Brisk late-August evenings have my heart and belly at odds…
Every year I fear the feeling of that first fall chill. I impulsively frown at the thought of jackets and snow. While friends are celebrating the return of their favorite cozy sweaters and pumpkiny-things, I’ll be crying tears of winter contempt into this baked rigatoni vodka. Savory pancetta, a luscious vodka sauce and the addition of three cheeses create are one fierce emotional support meal, though. As long as I can bring it everywhere with me I might be okay.
Baked Rigatoni Vodka
Serves up to 6
¾ cup pancetta, or 2-3 pcs of bacon with excess fat removed (simply omit if you are vegetarian)
1 medium white onion, 1 ¼ cup diced
7 baby bella mushrooms, stems removed, cleaned and thinly sliced, 1 heaping cup
4-5 garlic cloves, finely minced, 1 ½ Tbsp
½ tsp Kosher salt
½ tsp Red chili flakes
4 Tbsps tomato paste
1 whole 14.5 oz can tomato puree or crushed tomatoes
4 oz vodka
⅛ cup fresh ricotta
¼ cup creme fraiche
¼ cup fresh grated Parmigiano
½ cup heavy cream
Freshly grated black pepper
1 box rigatoni (sub GF pasta if necessary)
Fresh mozzarella, 6-7 thin slices
OPTIONAL PARMESAN GARLIC CRUST: 1/2 cup fresh grated Parmigiano, 3 garlic cloves minced, red chili flakes, freshly grated black pepper
First, finely mince 1 ½ Tbsp of raw garlic (4-5 cloves). Dice 1 heaping cup of white onions. Clean and remove the stems from 6-7 mushrooms and cut into thin slices.
Heat a large saucepan with high sides over medium heat. When pan is hot, add pancetta. If you don’t have pancetta, use bacon with some of the excess fat removed. Cook until a majority of the pancetta is golden and crispy, being sure not to burn it.
Turn the heat off and with a slotted spoon, remove pancetta from the pan, letting any fat drip through before putting in a small bowl. Set aside. If you are using bacon, remove from the pan and set aside on a paper towel to drain the excess fat.
Pour out most of the fat that reminds in the pan, leaving just enough to coat the bottom. Place the pan back over a medium heat and once hot, add diced onions. When they start to sweat, scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan and soften, 3-4 minutes, turning the heat down if the onions start to get too much color or if the pan is looking dry.
Then add sliced mushrooms to the pan along with ½ teaspoon of coarse kosher salt. Mix and cook another 2 mins. Next, add minced garlic to the pan along with ½ teaspoon red chili flakes, stirring occasionally to make sure garlic doesn’t burn. After another 2 mins, when garlic is fragrant, add tomato paste. After a minute or two, over a low heat, deglaze the pan with 4 oz vodka. Let the alcohol cook off, 5 or so minutes.
Start your water for pasta. Once the water has reached a simmer, salt to taste like the sea.
Add your canned tomato puree or crushed tomatoes to the pan. You can also use whole peeled tomatoes and simply crush by hand, or if you prefer a smoother sauce, puree in a blender/food processor. Bring the sauce to a rapid simmer, and then turn down the heat letting it cook down to bring the flavors together, 10-15 minutes.
Once your pasta water is boiling, add the pasta and cook exactly to al dente. The pasta cooks a few minutes in the oven at the end, so if it gets overcooked here, it will be mushy when you serve it.
In the meantime, in a small bowl, combine 1/8 cup ricotta, 1/4 cup creme fraiche and 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano. Add a few cranks of freshly ground black pepper and mix. This will be coating your noodles before you add the vodka sauce.
Next, go ahead and add your cooked pancetta back to the sauce. If you used bacon, dice it and add.
Then add heavy cream and mix, until you reach desired level of creaminess, up to ½ cup. If you prefer a less creamy sauce, start with 1/4 cup. Mix to incorporate. Let cook together another 5 mins over medium low heat.
Then do a final seasoning check - add freshly ground black pepper, and more salt and chili pepper if you like. I usually add more of both here. When pasta is just al dente, strain, reserving a little of the starchy pasta liquid.
Put pasta into a baking dish, like a 9x13 with at least 2 ½ inches of depth. If your baking dish smaller, you may want to mix your pasta with the sauces in the pot you boiled it in. To the pasta, add the three cheese mixture, and gently stir in order to evenly coat.
Turn your oven onto the high broil setting.
Spoon the vodka sauce over the pasta and gently fold together again, being careful not to break pasta. If you prefer your food very hot when you eat, you may want to bring your vodka sauce to a simmer before spooning it over the pasta.
Once pasta has been evenly coated in vodka sauce, add a few splashes of pasta water to loosen. It should create a little creamy liquid in the bottom of the baking dish.
Cut mozzarella into 6 or 7 thin slices, and then tear apart and put on top of pasta.
Place baking dish in the oven just until the mozzarella is golden brown and melted, 3-5 minutes. Keep an eye and don’t walk away because some broilers are very hot, and you don’t want to burn the cheese. I usually check after 3 minutes, and add another 2 minutes if it’s not browned yet.
When the mozzarella is ready, remove baking dish from oven and set aside to let cool for a minute or two.
OPTIONAL - FRIED GARLIC & PARMESAN CRUST: For a final touch, while your pasta cools, finely mince 3 cloves of garlic. In a non stick pan with oil, gently fry the garlic over low heat, mixing constantly until a light golden color. Then remove from the heat and add to a small bowl to cool. In another bowl, grate 1/2 cup of fresh Parmigiano. Once the garlic is cool, mix with grated parmesan, a little red chili flake for some heat and a crank of black pepper. Sprinkle over pasta just before digging in.