Rigatoni alla Harissa Vodka Sauce
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Vodka sauce is a creamy tomato pasta sauce and which I avoided the same way I would an old classmate I’ve spotted from across the grocery store and desperately don’t want to make small talk with: by leaping into a large bin of potatoes and burrowing down until the springtime. Slight exaggeration.
Why did I avoid vodka sauce? For some reason, tomato and cream mixed together tend to make me feel nauseous. I don’t know what the deal is, because tomato and cheese is the best combination and surely it’s not that different, but…when it’s cream and tomato-based sauce together, it makes me feel like I’m going to hurl. Such appetizing talk on a recipe, I know.
Last year, I was at an Italian restaurant and there weren’t a ton of vegetarian options, and one of them was pasta alla vodka. I threw caution to the wind and ordered it, and…it was good! I didn’t feel sick. So, obviously, I came to the conclusion that I’ve known all along: vodka is magic.
Because of that magic, vodka brings the sauce together so much better than just mixing cream in without it. I can finally enjoy a tomato and cream sauce! Not that I was terribly worried about it, but sometimes I am in the mood for a more indulgent pasta that isn’t necessarily loaded with cheese.
Vodka sauce usually has a slightly spicy element in the form of red pepper flakes, but I love cooking with harissa, a north African pepper paste. I live in Morocco, and it’s one of my favorite ingredients here to work with. In this recipe, I add harissa to the garlic and shallots along with tomato paste and some tomato sauce, mix them together, and let them cook down for a couple minutes before adding the vodka. Then, after cooking the mixture down for another couple minutes, I add creme fraiche.
Notes on the ingredients:
Olive oil: I usually use olive oil, but I’ve also used butter, which works well.
Tomato paste and tomato sauce: Many vodka sauces use just tomato paste, but I use a combination of paste and sauce. I find the addition of the tomato sauce makes it much easier to work with and produces a smoother, more caramelized final result.
Harissa: It’s important to use a quality harissa that you really enjoy the taste of. If you don’t like the harissa you’re using, it’s going to taste either weird or bland.
Creme fraiche: I always use creme fraiche instead of heavy cream. If you don’t have creme fraiche, you can use sour cream with a couple tablespoons substituted out for heavy cream.
Rigatoni: You can use another pasta shape. It should be a fairly sturdy shape, so no angel hair pasta or macaroni! The traditional penne works well (I just prefer rigatoni), but you can even go crazy and use gnocchi.
Cheese: Vodka sauce usually finishes with a grated hard cheese. I think it’s too much in this sauce, which already has a lot of salty and savory flavor from the harissa. However, you can top with cheese if you like, and you can see from the pictures that I’ve put burratina on it before.
Herbs: I’ve made this with both basil and cilantro before. They’re both good, but change the flavor a lot depending on which one you use. Basil has a more Italian taste, while cilantro leans into the north African flavor of the harissa.
Cooking liquid (pasta water): I always reserve a little extra just in case. And you don’t need to boil your pasta in an enormous pot; if you use less water, it will be starchier and better for making sauces.
Recipe:
Harissa Rigatoni alla Vodka Sauce
Ingredients
Instructions
- Cook the rigatoni according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.
- While you make the pasta, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the shallots until transluscent, about 3-5 minutes depending on how finely you've diced them.
- Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste, harissa, and tomato sauce. Stir to combine and cook for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is thick.
- Add the vodka and stir to combine, then cook down for an additional 3-4 minutes.
- Add the creme fraiche, stirring quickly to combine thoroughly with the sauce. Add the rigatoni, herbs, and around 1/4 cup of the reserved cooking liquid (pasta water). Combine the ingredients and add additional cooking liquid if needed. The sauce should be liquidy enough that it's smooth, but not so thin it can't coat the pasta.
- Serve immediately topped with additional herbs and cheese (optional).
If you somehow have leftovers, you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge and heat up in the microwave the next day for lunch.
Serving suggestions:
Serve with a side salad, like this super simple Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Salad.
Grate some hard cheese like parmesan over the top or go crazy and plop a mini burrata on top like I did.
Make everything in your life pink by having with a glass of rosé.
More pasta recipes:
Vodka sauce is spiced up with harissa pepper paste in this quick and easy pasta recipe.