Penne pasta with Vodka sauce (Penne alla Vodka)

Ingredients

1 lb. penne pasta
4 slices of bacon or sliced prosciutto cut into pieces
¼ cup shallots, diced
1 Tbsp minced fresh garlic
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp olive oil
½ cup Vodka
1 can crushed tomato
½ cup cooking cream
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp butter
½ cup fresh basil finely chopped



1. Boil a large pot of water. Once boiling, put in some salt and the penne pasta and cook to just short of done.

2. While the pasta is boiling, heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the bacon (or prosciutto) a bit, then add the garlic, shallots and pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat for around 4 minutes until the shallots are soft.

3. Add the Vodka and cook for one minute.

4. Add the crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook for another 3 minutes.

5. Add in the cream and stir until thoroughly mixed. Then add the butter and cook for 2 minutes.

6. Add the pasta to the sauce together with ½ cup of pasta water and bring to a boil. Add more pasta water if wish to have more sauce.

7. Stir in the Parmesan cheese.

8. Stir in the finely chopped basil.

9. Adjust seasoning as needed, or add more cheese to taste.

10. BON APPETIT.