By Eric Kim
Updated Oct. 11, 2023
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- 5(2,345)
- Notes
- Read community notes
In a 1974 cookbook, the Italian actor Ugo Tognazzi published a recipe for pasta all’infuriata, "furious pasta," a chile-vodka-spiked tomato number. It’s one of the first written accounts of vodka in pasta. The alcohol is said to help fat disperse more evenly, keeping the sauce emulsion glossy and creamy, and to help you smell, and in turn taste, the sauce's flavors in a heightened way. The ricotta serving suggestion draws inspiration from the creamy tomato soup with three dollops of cool, sweet ricotta on top from the now-closed Caffe Falai in Manhattan’s NoLIta neighborhood. The ricotta lends coolness both in temperature and in flavor, offering relief between bites of spicy booziness.
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings
- Kosher salt
- 1tablespoon olive oil
- 4slices thick-cut bacon (6 ounces), coarsely chopped
- 1½teaspoons red-pepper flakes
- 1teaspoon dried oregano
- 4large garlic cloves, crushed but left whole
- 1medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 5tablespoons tomato paste, preferably double-concentrated
- ¾ to 1cup vodka, depending on how boozy you want it
- 1pound fusilli, penne or rigatoni
- 1cup heavy cream
- 4ounces Pecorino Romano or Parmesan, finely grated (1 cup)
- 1cup/8 ounces whole-milk ricotta
- Finely chopped flat-leaf parsley or basil, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
790 calories; 38 grams fat; 19 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 13 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 67 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 26 grams protein; 694 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Step
2
Heat a large, high-sided skillet over medium-high. Add the oil and bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is crispy at the edges, about 5 minutes. Carefully drain all but 3 tablespoons of the fat, reserving any excess for later.
Step
3
Lower the heat to medium. Stir in the red-pepper flakes, oregano and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, just a few seconds. Add the onion, season generously with salt and pepper and cook over medium-high, stirring, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add more bacon fat if the pan dries out. Add the tomato paste and stir constantly until slightly darker in color, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the vodka.
Step
4
Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package instructions until 2 minutes shy of al dente.
Step
5
While the pasta cooks, turn the heat under the sauce to high and cook, stirring constantly, until reduced by three-quarters, about 2 minutes. Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Take off the heat.
Step
6
Reserve 2 cups of the pasta water. Drain the pasta and add to the pan with the sauce, along with 1 cup pasta water and most of the pecorino. Cook over medium-high, stirring vigorously with one hand while moving the pan back and forth with the other, until the sauce glossily drapes the noodles, 5 to 7 minutes. Add more pasta water if the sauce looks dry. Fish out the garlic cloves. Taste and season with more salt and pepper, as desired.
Step
7
Divide the pasta among plates, sprinkling with any remaining pecorino and dolloping each serving with three spoonfuls of ricotta. Top with the parsley, which adds necessary freshness to counter the richness.
Ratings
5
out of 5
2,345
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Cooking Notes
Loy
Doubled the garlic and left the cloves in instead of pulling them out. Used basil instead of parsley. Absolutely amazing.
Sean
Wow. That was so good! I followed the recipe (I know, not allowed on this site.) My daughters (9 and 6) were not drunk after dinner. The alcohol seemed to have cooked off just fine. I did agree with Loy and left the garlic in and substituted basil for parsley. Otherwise, the timings were perfect and it was ridiculously good.
Marghuerita
Followed KaBo’s adaptation, with a couple of tweaks: added lime and salt with the tequila; doubled pizzas
Irene
Not really, that brief time the vodka is on the heat will leave most of the alcohol in"According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), baked or simmered dishes that contain alcohol will retain 40% of the original amount after 15 minutes of cooking, 35% after 30 minutes and 25% after an hour. But there’s no point at which all of the alcohol disappears."
Kat
For a vegetarian version, instead of pancetta, I fried some semidried tomatoes in oil, and added smoked paprika and chipotle. Delicious!
SpinnyD
There are a few brands of tempeh "bacon" that would help with the smoky flavor that regular bacon adds, along with the chewy bacon texture to contrast with the pasta. But tempeh won't add all the unctuous fat of regular bacon, you'll need additional olive oil. Alternatively, sh*take mushrooms can add chew, and you can smoky spices and extra salt along with some extra olive oil.
Ho
I skipped the heavy cream and garlic, used part skim ricotta, and burnt the bacon to crispy chewy. Was also amazing.
Janis
This was absolutely delicious as written… the whole family enjoyed and said that it was a “keeper.” Thank you, Eric Kim!
KRock
Cooked as written. One of my all-time favorite NYT recipes, and I am a long-time subscriber.
Eric Kim
Leave it in the pan! Enjoy!
Don
I followed the suggestion of an internet cooking guru who tested various alcohols, and he found that GIN proved the best flavor. Try it next time with gin, and see if you agree.(Yes, there are many brands of gin, but I recommend the gin that comes in the blue -tinted bottle.)
Mich
This has to be one of the best tasting pasta dishes I have ever made! Cut the recipe by half and still have left overs! Stellar dish:-)
Jess A
Would it be accurate to think the alcohol does not burn off because the vodka is out in off the heat? I also think this would be equally delicious using blended (to get the lumps out) cottage cheese in place of the heavy cream for a nice protein bump.
Joanne
A bit too spicy for me, I would cut back on the red pepper, unless you like spicy. Otherwise it was an awesome quick meal to prepare!
Suzanne
I made this tonight as directed and it was very good. We deem it dinner party worthy.
Kerry
I think the time reduce the vodka needs to be a lot longer than 2 minutes. This came out super boozy (like almost inedible) for me. I should have known because I barely added any pasta water because the sauce was still thin (and should have tasted before adding the pasta). The flavors are there though ... I would try this again with a lot less vodka and making sure the alcohol has cooked off more before putting it all together
Kyle
TF you mean “fish out the garlic cloves”?? Everything is orange and translucent by this step.
got some heat
This dish brought more heat than I expected. Still delish.We added mushrooms and spinach and subbed Greek yogurt & milk blend for the heavy cream. It was quicker to curdle and separate but still full of flavor and a healthier option. Added fresh basil and more cheese on the plate with some crusty bread.
got some heat
This dish brought more heat than expected. Still delicious.We added mushrooms and spinach at the end. Also subbed a mixture of Greek yogurt and milk for the heavy cream. It led to some curdling and separation, but worth the extra healthy touch.Added fresh basil and more cheese on the plate and served with some crusty bread. A good birthday dinner.
Gretchen
For my vegetarian family, I just skipped the bacon without doing anything extra to introduce a "bacon-y" flavor. I started with 3T olive oil instead of the 3T of bacon fat, and then cooked it as written from there. Absolutely delicious!
Grace
We've made this a few times now so it's becoming part of our regular dinner rotation! It's fantastic, we only omit the bacon as we are vegetarian but otherwise follow as written. Delicious weeknight dinner that comes together quickly.
Lisa
Made this tonight. First time - very easy recipe to follow! Turned out fantastic and so flavourful! Definitely going into rotation.
jo
This is a wonderful pasta dish - and fun to makeBut, for us, way too spicy!Will definitely make again using way less red pepper.Great first course.
Nancy
Delicious! I (whoops) put the ricotta in with the Pecorino/Parmesan - still delicious, and since my husband isn't crazy about cool-ish cheese on top of his pasta it worked out fine, though perhaps the sauce was a bit more grainy looking than it would have been. Repeater.
diane excellent pasta
We enjoyed this but I made several changes. I used a similar amount of chorizo Spanish style sausage (boar’s head) as we usually don’t have bacon. I added this after the tomato paste. Added some olive oil and butter to replace the bacon fat. I chopped the garlic and added it after the onion, so I didn’t have to remove it later. I used 1/2 lb of pasta and skipped the pasta water as it didn’t seem necessary
Mai C.
Made this for my family tonight and it was EXCELLENT. I followed the recipe as is and there was no taste of vodka at all for those you wondering. I am very sensitive to alchohol because I am allergic to alcohol (Yes. Boo hoo for me) but I also hate the taste of alcohol so trust tme on this one. I left the garlic in and used parsley at the end. The ricotta topping is wonderful and helps tame the spice if you are sensitive to heat. I wouldn't change a thing. Thank you Eric!
Vic
Really tasty and easy! Actually came together in the time advertised in the recipe, which is an added bonus!
Mia
I left out the bacon to keep this vegetarian. I also had to sub garlic powder and didn't have fresh herbs but I was very happy with it! I'd add a little more red pepper flakes but I like spice. Quick & easy but very good.
Chef Agostino
so good, so easy! i made it exactly as written, and when i make it again, i won’t make any changes.
Willie
Made as written. Excellent. The ricotta is a personal choice addition- I like it without but serve as an option.
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