I love Penne Alla Vodka, I actually love any pasta that includes cream. I have made this recipe a few times, but I wanted to try it by eliminating the vodka and substitute it with some wine. I wondered what type of wine I should use with this recipe and thought that Moscato might be a good choice. It is sweeter than a dry white wine, but that is what I thought would make this recipe work.
Since I was using canned tomatoes, the sweetness of the wine could balance the acidity of the tomato sauce without using sugar as I usually would.
I was right, there was not any sweetness indicated in the sauce but it brought a boldness and help balance out all the flavors while having them compliment each other more than I could have imagined.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped finely
- 3/4 cup Mirassou Moscato wine (or any white wine)
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can whole tomatoes, with their juice, pureed in a blender
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- Salt and garlic powder to taste
- 1 cup heavy cream or 1-1/2 cups evaporated skim milk (for a leaner version)
- 16-ounce penne pasta
- 2 tsp dried basil, or 12 fresh basil leaves chopped
- 1-1/2 cups freshly grated Romano cheese
Instructions
- In a large skillet on medium heat, add butter, olive oil and chopped garlic. Sautee until garlic is lightly browned.
- Add wine and reduce half.
- In a blended, blend whole canned tomatoes until liquified and add to skillet.
- Let tomato sauce simmer for about 20 minutes. Add salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and any garlic powder if desired.
- Add heavy cream and grated Romano cheese. Stir and simmer until cheese is melted.
- Meanwhile, in a salted pot of water, cook penne pasta.
- Once penne pasta is al dente, you can serve separate from sauce, or add penne with some pasta water right into the sauce in the skillet and cook until desired thickness.
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