Vodka Cream Sauce

The Picky Eater's Only Marinara (Yes I know It's Pink But It's As Close As She Gets)

Sauces

My Thoughts

This is my go-to red sauce (is it still a red sauce when it's pink/orange?). It's not really a marinara sauce, but it's what I use in place of a traditional red sauce. The Picky Eater is not a fan of marinara, but she will eat this. It's definitely not as healthy as a traditional sauce, but it is really good. I use this with pasta, for making lasagna, and as pizza sauce. It adds an extra creamy component to whatever you are making.

The How To Do It

  1. Heat a medium to large saucepan over high heat.
  2. Add the onions to the pan and cook for 5-10 minutes, or until they start to turn translucent.
  3. Next add the garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Don't let the garlic start to brown. It will get bitter if it browns too much.
  4. Add the vodka and let it cook down until it is reduced by about half. You'll notice the oil/vodka/vegetable mixture will thicken as well.
  5. Add the can of tomatoes and reduce the heat to low-medium.
  6. Next using an immersion blend, blend the sauce until it is the consistency you want (and if you like it chunky skip this step all together). I use an immersion blender because I don't like transferring the contents of a very hot pot to a blender and then back again. You could use a traditional blender but be very careful. Wearing almost boiling tomato sauce is not my idea of a good time.
  7. Next add the dry ingredients, the honey, and half of the chopped basil.
  8. Now add the cream and all but roughly a tablespoon of the Parmesan cheese.
  9. Let the sauce simmer for 20-30 minutes. If you like, you can go lower on the heat and have it barely simmering. This will allow some of the moisture to cook off and the flavors to intensify, but for the most part after about 20 minutes the flavor is there.

Ingredients

Vodka Cream Sauce
1 onion
white onion
4 cloves
garlic
28 ozs
crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
1 tbsp
granulated garlic
¼ cup
vodka
1 tsp
onion powder
½ tsp
smoked paprika
¼ tsp
cayenne pepper
*or less
1 pinch
dried oregano
*about 1/4 teaspoon
½ cup
Parmesan
¾ cup
heavy cream
½ tsp
kosher salt
½ tsp
black pepper
½ cup
sweet basil
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