Carbone Spicy Rigatoni Recipe
Our Carbone Spicy Rigatoni delivers a punch of flavor with vodka sauce and perfectly cooked rigatoni. Enjoy a restaurant-quality meal in under 25 minutes!
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 659kcal
Equipment
- stockpot for cooking rigatoni
- skillet or a 2 or 3-quart saucepan
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- ¾ cup vodka or equal amount of water with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
- 1 cup heavy cream do not substitute with milk or half-and-half
- 1 tablespoon chili pepper paste see Notes for substitutions
- 16 ounces uncooked rigatoni
- 3 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese for best results, grate a fresh block of cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
optional
- 8 fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until soft and translucent, 3- 5 minutes.Add tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until paste is brick red in color and is starting to caramelize.
- Reduce heat to low and pour vodka into the pan. Simmer, stirring often, until the liquid is mostly evaporated. Add heavy cream and red pepper chili paste, stirring well to combine. Taste sauce for flavor and season with salt and pepper as desired. Remove from heat.
- Bring 3 quarts of heavily salted water to a full boil over high heat. Once boiling, add the rigatoni and cook until al dente (2 minutes less than stated on package instructions - about 10 minutes). Use a heat-safe measuring glass or bowl to reserve 1 cup of pasta water, then drain pasta through a colander.
- Add the drained pasta to the skillet with spicy vodka sauce. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the butter and ½ cup pasta water. Cook the sauce and pasta, stirring often. Add more pasta water if needed, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the butter melts and the sauce is a soft orange color, thick and glossy.
- Add the parmesan cheese, taste again for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper, if needed. Garnish with additional parmesan and fresh basil (optional) before serving.
Video
Notes
- To ensure your rigatoni pasta is perfectly cooked, boil it in salted water until it’s al dente, then immediately toss it with a bit of olive oil to prevent sticking. For an extra flavor boost, finish cooking the pasta in your sauce for the last few minutes to allow it to absorb all the delicious flavors.
- Make it gluten-free. The only substitution you need for this recipe to be completely gluten-free is to use rice noodles or any other gluten-free pasta.
- Bulk it up for a heartier meal. As written, our recipe for rigatoni vodka pasta is vegetarian, but that doesn’t mean you can’t add some protein. Almost any Italian pasta dish can be bulked up with sausage or prosciutto. (If you enjoy Italian sausage, wait until you taste it in baked rigatoni and sausage!)
- I love chili pepper paste for an authentic Italian flavor, but you can easily substitute it with one of the following:
- Mix 1 tablespoon ground red cayenne pepper with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil until a paste forms, or 1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes.
- Spicy vodka pasta can be placed in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
- Reheat on the stovetop with all of the sauce or microwave in short 15-second bursts for best results.
- Unfortunately, this spicy rigatoni recipe is not freezer-friendly. The vodka sauce includes heavy cream, which, like any other dairy product, will separate during thawing and reheating.
- This significantly changes the consistency and flavor.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 659kcal | Carbohydrates: 65g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 66mg | Sodium: 419mg | Potassium: 530mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1308IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 158mg | Iron: 2mg