Great sauce! Vodka sauces are so easy but taste like you spent hours. I cut the amount of pasta in half and sauteed three cloves of minced garlic along with about 1/4 cup of finely chopped onion in the olive oil. I added 1/4 tsp. of crushed red pepper flakes along with the vodka. Instead of the whole peeled tomatoes I used a 28 oz. can of chunky crushed tomatoes plus an 8 oz. can of tomato sauce. After adding the crushed tomatoes & sauce I added the fresh basil 1/4 tsp. of oregano 1 tsp. of parsley 1/2 tsp. of salt and 2 tsp. of sugar. I used a good vodka and light cream. The grated parmesan made it extra creamy. Instead of the proscuitto we grilled some chorizo sausage and sliced that up over the penne pasta - poured the sauce over top. Great with a side of garlic bread and a salad!
I can see myself making this dish on a regular basis; it so easy and the ingredients so simple. My only problem with this dish was adding the cheese at the end before mixing with the pasta. I found that the melting cheese made my toppings of proscuitto basil & mushrooms stick and clump together. So I had clumps of delicious toppings tossed with my pasta. Next time I'll toss the pasta with the sauce and add the cheese while I'm tossing so it melts onto the pasta binding toppings with pasta and not toppings with each other.
The whole family gobbled this up! I doubled the prosciutto (wanted to use it up) and omitted the red pepper flakes for fear it would be too spicy for the children. I reduced the tomato mixture quite a bit before adding the vodka and cream (used fat free 1/2&1/2)...probably 15-20 minutes. I also added 2 Tbsp capers and 1/4 frozen peas when I added the vodka and cream. I also made this with whole wheat penne. I did not add the basil as directed because of picky children so I just topped the adults bowl with a few chopped basil leaves. A definite repeater in this house.
I really liked this recipe although I modified it using what I had in the house. I left out the heavy cream used white wine instead of vodka angel hair instead of penne and added more italian spices (oregano thyme etc). I liked it a lot... it turned out more like an arrabiata sauce but it had a lot fewer calories too!
THIS WAS VERY GOOD----A KEEPER. I HAVE MADE TOMATO/VODKA SAUCE BEFORE BUT THIS IS THE BEST. I ALSO MUST ADD THAT I NEVER CHANGE A RECIPE THE FIRST TIME I TRY IT. I DID WITH THIS TO ADD SOME MEAT WITH IT. INSTEAD OF THE PROSCIUTTO WHICH WE REALLY DON'T LIKE I BROWNED 6 WINE & CHEESE ITALIAN SAUSAGES & CONTINUED WITH THE SAME PAN DEGLAZING WHEN ADDING THE TOMATOES & THE REST OF THE INGREDIENTS. HOWEVER I REMOVED THE SAUSAGES & SLICED THEM UP. WHEN ALL WAS DONE I JUST TOSSED THEM INTO THE SAUCE BEFORE POURING OVER THE PENNE. DEEEEEEEELISH! PROBABLY NOT AS IMPRESSIVE LOOKING IF SERVING TO COMPANY BUT TRY IT FOR THE FAMILY---VERY PLEASING!
This is better than restaurant quality. Highly recommended recipie. Everyone who tries it wants to know what's my secret.
Another winner from Marianne (try her Tropical Salad too folks). Thank you Marianne! My Italian husband who loves rich pasta dishes swooned over this. I used cooked bacon for the proscuitto and reduced the amt. of cheese a little bit. This is a great "treat" recipe definitely a keeper.
This is a very good base. My changes are; 2 slices off the end of a 1 lb. of bacon omit the prosciutto (only because I didn't want to drive downtown to the Italian market) whole tomatoes replace with 1 14oz.can diced tomatoes with garlic and oregano 2 cups of contadina pizza sauce 1/4 cup vodka...(I only had 100 proof on hand) 2 shakes oregano powder 2 shakes dried parsley 1 4oz. can drained mushroom slices no added salt. Unbelievable and I have learned from some of the very best Italians out there.
This recipe was excellent. It tasted like something you order from a restaurant. Adding chicken or shrimp makes this meal even better.
I know this recipe has had great reviews so far but we did not like this at all. I have never cooked with prosciutto before and maybe it was that flavor that we did not care for. I increased the prosciutto because my husband likes more meat in dishes like this.... I would not recommend doing that.
