Ina Garten: Vecchia Bettola

Italian? Yes please.  I can always make room for some good italian food, especially as the weather starts getting colder.  From the last post you already know that I was at Colgate this past weekend so I figured I should share a great new recipe that we discovered.

Introducing PASTA.  Well, okay, Vecchia Bettola, a vodka type sauce that is named after the restaurant in Florence where it was invented.  While it's a bit think and heavy I do suggest trying it if you have 2-3 hours in your day to set aside to sauce making.

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa/ Ina Garten.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1 medium Spanish onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 cup vodka
• 2 (28-ounce) cans peeled plum tomatoes
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 pound penne pasta
• 4 tablespoons fresh oregano
• 3/4 to 1 cup heavy cream
• Grated Parmesan cheese

My personal spin on this recipe would be to decrease the amount of heavy cream and posssibly add in some greek yogurt to substitute.  I am not very fond of heavy cream and even found that the pre-cream sauce was delicious.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large oven proof saute pan over medium heat, add the onions and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes until translucent. Add the red pepper flakes and dried oregano and cook for 1 minute more. Add the vodka and continue cooking until the mixture is reduced by half.

Meanwhile, drain the tomatoes through a sieve and crush them into the pan with your hands. Add 2 teaspoons salt and a pinch of black pepper. Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and place it in the oven for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta al dente. Drain and set aside.

Place the tomato mixture in a blender and puree in batches until the sauce is a smooth consistency. Return to the pan.

Reheat the sauce, add 2 tablespoons fresh oregano and enough heavy cream to make the sauce a creamy consistency. Add salt and pepper, to taste, and simmer for 10 minutes. Toss the pasta into the sauce and cook for 2 minutes more. Stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan. Serve with an additional sprinkle of Parmesan and a sprinkle of fresh oregano on each plate.

Yum, right?