This signature recipe was inspired by a cooking segment on the Oprah show, although I don't admit that very often. My DNA is definitely a Bree Van De Camp / Gabrielle Solis mutation. If you've been living under a rock, I am referring to two characters on Desperate Housewives. This post is all about the hidden housewife within - watching daytime TV and sneaking in downloads of the US Feeds of all my favorite series, mixed in with a lot of flicking through cookbooks, Gourmet Traveller, delicious magazine, Donna Hay magazine, Vogue. Whilst I was inspired by the cooking segment on Oprah, I have never been able to find the Vodka Pasta recipe, so decided to invent my own, drawing inspiration from my favorite chefs. This is how I go about a lot of my cooking, making it up as I go, combining 2-3 recipes to create my own version. That aside, this is one of the best pasta recipes. It is so easy and the flavours together are so powerful. The vodka really seems to draw out the various flavours, and the crème fraîche softens all of the ingredients, creating a rich and rustic tomato sauce. The crisp baby spinach really packs a punch too, and adds wonderful texture to this dish.
In tonight's rendition of this recipe, I decided to add meat balls, created from good quality sausages, an idea I borrowed from Jamie Oliver. We had a roaring fire burning all weekend in our fireplace, which had me thinking back to many a sausage sizzle over an open fire. While we were tempted to roast sausages in the fireplace for a good old bangers and mash dinner, we opted for something a touch more civilised! This made for a very 'blokey' pasta, but I knew that sausages had to feature in some shape or form tonight. The vegetarian version of this recipe is what I will stick to most but the sausages did add a splendid twist, and importantly fulfilled a craving! Having over-indulged in dinner, I will be running the gauntlet tomorrow - all 8.5 KMs of it.
Ingredients & Preparation:
4 good quality lamb or beef sausages
6-10 bullet chillies, chopped
8-10 cloves of garlic, crushed
Extra virgin olive oil
Fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
Fresh basil, chopped
Fresh cracked black pepper
Sea salt
3/4 cup vodka (such as Absolut Vodka)
Large jar of good quality pasta sauce (such as Five Brothers)
1 cup crème fraîche
Baby Spinach
Capellini
Freshly Grated Parmesan
Heat a non-stick pan to medium heat, and add a generous pour of extra virgin olive oil. Add chillies and garlic, and cook for about one minute, stirring throughout. Add one half of the pasta sauce and the vodka. Let the vodka simmer off, then add the rest of the pasta sauce. To finish the sauce, stir through the crème fraîche, fresh parsley and fresh basil, and let this simmer. This will create a nice rosé sauce. Season with fresh cracked pepper and sea salt.
To create the meat balls, simply squeeze the sausages to form little meat parcels. You should get about 3 meat parcels per sausage. Do not worry if they are not perfectly round. The more rustic, the better. Fry until golden brown. When the sausages are done cooking, add to the pasta sauce and stir through. Continue to simmer the sauce.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and add the Capellini (or other preferred pasta) once the water is boiling. Cook until al dente. Drain, rinse with hot water. Combine the pasta and the sauce in a large pot, and toss together, ensuring the pasta is evenly coated in the sauce.
Plate the pasta, and garnish with fresh baby spinach, basil leaves and additional parsley. Flavour with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and more cracked pepper if desired. Try to use the best quality parmesan cheese possible, and grate it just prior to serving.
Bon Appetit!
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