AMAZING Pasta Sauce

Tonight for dinner, I made a variation of the Spaghetti with Vodka Cream Sauce that I made earlier in the blog.  Having cream that needed using, and feeling somewhat confident having made the basic recipe a couple of times, I decided to try and play around a little bit.  The result?

THE MOST AMAZING PASTA EVER!

Ok, so I'm not being terribly modest, but hell.  That was some damn good pasta!  I don't think I'll EVER make the basic Vodka Cream Sauce again!  I'm going to do it this new way from now on, because it was so good.  It was terribly refreshing, not heavy sitting in your stomach, and it's vegetarian (which is a bonus - cheap, and you don't need meat at every meal - sometimes it's nice to have a change up... after all, we are omnivores!).  

Another good thing is that it has lots of vegetables in it, but you barely even notice!

INGREDIENTS

dry pasta (enough for 4 - 5 + serves), cooked al dente, drained, kept warm - I used penne tonight!

2 tbsp oil

2 medium onions, diced

1 & 1/2 tsp salt, divided

a pinch of dried chilli powder (to taste - but be frugal, trust me)

1 generous teaspoon of crushed garlic

1 cup vodka

1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock (I made it quite strong for extra flavour)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can whole tomatoes

1/2 cup cream

diced capsicum (bell peppers)

1 medium carrot, grated

cherry tomatoes, halved

mushrooms (optional - I fried these on the side in a bit of butter for my Dad to add to his sauce - I personally don't like mushrooms)

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

2 tbsp cornflour mixed in 2 tbsp cold water to thicken (if necessary, add at the end)

shaved or grated parmesan cheese, for on top!

METHOD

• Heat oil, add onion and sauté until tender.
• Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, chilli, and garlic; sauté 1 minute.
• Add vodka (when cooking with alcohol, there is always the chance of it catching on fire, so be very careful); bring to a boil
• Reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes or until liquid is reduced by about half
• Stir in 1 tsp salt, stock, and cans of tomatoes (you may want to smoosh the whole tomatoes up a bit as it simmers); bring to a boil
• Add diced capsicum, grated carrot and halved cherry tomatoes.  Season with dried basil, oregano and garlic salt.
• Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes, tasting the sauce and adjusting seasoning if necessary
• Mix in cream, stirring constantly while cooking for another 2 minutes
• If the sauce is a little thin, mix the cornflour and water and add to the sauce, simmering for a few more minutes while stirring constantly
• Serve immediately on al dente pasta, with cheese to garnish.

It smelled and looked so good, I wanted to eat ASAP and I forgot to take a picture on the bench... hence why you can see my legs haha!

Then once you've eaten this pasta, come back to my blog and thank me for introducing you to the best sauce of your life! ;)  It's so easy.  It may look like a lot of steps, but it's really not, and I've kept it as simple as possible! :)  I prepared all my diced veges first so I could just chuck them in as needed, so that keeps it easy. :)

Happy cooking!