{"id":1735,"date":"2015-04-27T06:02:11","date_gmt":"2015-04-27T05:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thecherryplumkitchen.com\/?p=1735"},"modified":"2015-04-27T06:02:11","modified_gmt":"2015-04-27T05:02:11","slug":"penne-rigate-in-vodka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecherryplumkitchen.com\/?p=1735","title":{"rendered":"Penne Rigate in Vodka"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I know exactly why I decided to cook Penne Rigate alla Vodka this week.<\/p>\n

\"Penne<\/a><\/p>\n

It’s all the fault of C J Sansom. \u00a0If I’m alone in the kitchen for any length of time I’ll invariably start listening to an audio book. \u00a0This week it’s been ‘Dark Fire’. \u00a0Book 2 in a brilliant series. \u00a0It’s 1540 and Matthew Shardlake is working for Thomas Cromwell again. \u00a0I can’t help but know 1540 is the year the very non-fictional Lord Cromwell’s head was parted from his neck \u2026 \u00a0so there I am waiting for the axe to fall. \u00a0Literally.<\/p>\n

Shardlake’s mission ..?<\/p>\n

Well, Cromwell wants to discover the secret of Greek Fire. \u00a0Can he? \u00a0I’ll not spoil it for you, but an idle comment from a passing son ruined the suspense for me. \u00a0Nevertheless, I enjoyed the journey. \u00a0Who put the boy in the well? \u00a0Why won’t Elizabeth speak? \u00a0And is Greek Fire really the new drink from Russia?<\/p>\n

Which is how it happened I reached for the vodka bottle.<\/p>\n

\"Penne<\/a><\/p>\n

All I need to feed a family of seven.<\/p>\n

The vodka in my cupboard is a British potato vodka. \u00a0It even comes with a union-jack-bow tied round the bottle neck.<\/p>\n

I really do think you get what you pay for when it comes to dried pasta. \u00a0Sadly. \u00a0I like De Cecco and\u00a0Garofalo. \u00a0Le Veneziana do a good gluten-free penne.<\/p>\n

\"Penne<\/a><\/p>\n

Begin by putting water on to boil. \u00a0It always takes far longer than I expect to get it up to an angry boil. \u00a0Lid on – will speed the process up. \u00a0(Aga: \u00a0bring it up to the boil on the floor of the Roasting Oven as that’ll keep the heat in your cooker.)<\/p>\n

Allow 1 litre\/1\u00bepints of water, minimum, for every 100g\/3\u00bdoz pasta. \u00a0That’ll stop it sticking together. \u00a0Don’t add the salt yet. \u00a0And don’t add any oil. \u00a0There’s no point. \u00a0It’ll just float on the top.<\/p>\n

\"Penne<\/a><\/p>\n

Chop the ham into chunky cubes.<\/p>\n

\"Penne<\/a><\/p>\n

Chop some flat-leaf parsley.<\/p>\n

\"Penne<\/a><\/p>\n

The stalks can go in a freezer bag and be popped into the freezer ready for home-made stocks.<\/p>\n

\"Penne<\/a><\/p>\n

Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the ham, parsley and some tomato pur\u00e9e. \u00a0Give it a stir and let it cook away for ten minutes or so over a gentle heat.<\/p>\n

\"Penne<\/a><\/p>\n

Season with coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.<\/p>\n

\"Penne<\/a><\/p>\n

Now it’s the vodka. \u00a0I like to cook my vodka ‘out’. \u00a0(If you want a stronger vodka flavour don’t add it now. \u00a0Mix it in with the cooked and drained pasta later, before adding it all to the sauce.)<\/p>\n

\"Penne<\/a><\/p>\n

When the vodka has all but evaporated, I add the cream.<\/p>\n

\"Penne<\/a><\/p>\n

And that’s the sauce done.<\/p>\n

\"Penne<\/a><\/p>\n

By now the water should be boiling. \u00a0Adding the salt now gets it swirling around the pan from the get-go – 10g\/\u00bcoz of salt per litre\/1\u00be pint of water. \u00a0It’s quite a lot, but it’s all the seasoning the pasta is going to get. \u00a0I was taught to think ‘salty like the mediterranean sea’.<\/p>\n

\"Penne<\/a><\/p>\n

Penne rigate is the traditional choice of pasta shape for this dish. \u00a0(Penne<\/em> means ‘quills’ in Italian and rigate<\/em> is the ridged version.) \u00a0Portion size depends on what you are doing. \u00a0I use 70g\/3oz of dried pasta for a first course and 100g\/3\u00bdoz for a main course.<\/p>\n

After adding the pasta, quickly put the lid back on and bring it back to a rolling boil as soon as possible. \u00a0As soon as it is, lid off again. \u00a0My packet states a cooking time of 11 minutes – so I set the timer for 10. \u00a0Al dente\u00a0<\/em> is the point at which the pasta is cooked through – no chalky centre – but there is still some ‘bite’. \u00a0I don’t think I’ve ever cooked my pasta for as long as the packet suggests.<\/p>\n

Before you drain the cooked pasta – scoop out a little of the cooking water. \u00a0If you want to loosen the finished dish the starchy water is the perfect thing to use.<\/p>\n

\"Penne<\/a><\/p>\n

Tip the pasta into the sauce and stir together.<\/p>\n

\"Penne<\/a><\/p>\n

Transfer to a warmed serving dish. \u00a0Personally, I don’t serve ‘Penne Rigate in Vodka’ with parmesan as I don’t think it needs it.<\/p>\n

\"Penne<\/a><\/p>\n

All those ridges hug the sauce. \u00a0Delicious.<\/p>\n

Eat.<\/p>\n

\"Penne<\/a>Penne Rigate in Vodka<\/strong><\/p>\n

Serves 7<\/em><\/p>\n