Sauce It Up

by Jean Kressy

Relish the American Table is a weekly column that appears in newspapers across the country.

Recently, we decided our all-purpose tomato sauce, the one we depend for pizzas and spaghetti with meatballs, and anything else that needs a blanket of sauce, needed sprucing up. Before stepping into the kitchen to invent another recipe, we set some ground rules. The new sauce should be simple to make, have plenty of tomatoes and hold up well in the freezer.

The project lingered on hold until we saw a can of fire-roasted tomatoes in the supermarket. Although we’ve been shopping long enough to know that pictures on labels don't necessarily match what’s in the package, these tomatoes looked terrific. They were fleshy Romas, flecked with bits of char. Also, they were diced, a nice little bonus. Suddenly, the new recipe began to take shape.

Whenever possible, we add vegetables to whatever we’re cooking. For the tomato sauce, we started by pretending we were making a Bolognese sauce, and sautéed onion and carrot in olive oil. Once the vegetables were softened, a can each of fire-roasted tomatoes and diced tomatoes with garlic went into the pot. To intensify the tomato flavor and provide some thickening, we added a tablespoon of tomato paste.

A splash of vodka gives tomato sauce an extra dimension. Ordinarily it’s the kind of addition made before the pot comes off the stove, but in this case adding it with the tomatoes worked better. Finally, a little cream stirred in at the last minute pulled the flavors together and added a modest amount of creaminess. It was exactly right.

Pasta with Fire-Roasted Vodka Sauce

High Cotton Food Styling & Photography

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Pasta with vodka sauce is an American invention that combines tomato sauce with a splash of vodka and cream. The addition of fire-roasted tomatoes adds a subtle smoky flavor.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup diced onion (about 4 ounces)
3/4 cup diced carrots
1/3 cup vodka
1 (14-ounce) can diced fire-roasted tomatoes, undrained
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes with roasted garlic, undrained
1 cup water
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 cup heavy cream
6 cups hot cooked penne (about 12 ounces)

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and carrot; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 4 minutes. Add vodka and next 7 ingredients (vodka through pepper); bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cream; stir. Serve over hot penne. Serves 6.

By Jean Kressy, a food writer in Ashburnham, Mass.
Winter Pantry, Feb. 2006, Cheap Eats, Jan. 2009.

Nutritional Information

Per serving: 439 calories, 10g fat, 10g prot., 63g carbs, 4.5g fiber, 877mg sodium.