Ribbons of fettuccine coated in a rich tomato sauce? Yes please.
Kale Me Maybe’s Twist on Vodka Pasta Will Have You Drooling
Ribbons of fettuccine coated in a rich tomato sauce? Yes please.
Welcome to Put on a Spread, a recipe series that takes you inside the kitchens – and dining rooms – of some of our favourite home cooks. For this instalment, Los Angeles based chef @kalememaybe is sharing her mouth-watering recipe for fettuccine with burst tomato Calabrian chilli vodka sauce.
You can never go wrong with making pasta – especially if it's paired with a vodka sauce. This simple yet delectable dish gained popularity on TikTok only a couple of years ago and quickly became the new classic. Easy to adapt to your personal preference, Los Angeles based chef Carina Wolff of Kale Me Maybe has created one of our favourite renditions of the recipe to date.
This flavourful dish is comprisesd al dente fettuccine ribbons coated in a rich calabrian chilli vodka sauce, with burst cherry tomatoes weaving their way through the tangled bands of pasta. This is the kind of dish that will have you looking around at the table to make sure no one sees you licking the saucy remnants off your bowl.
This vibrant recipe serves four, but it never hurts to make double when you're cooking something as mouth-watering as this!
Ingredients
For the pasta
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 475g cherry tomatoes
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1 tbsp chopped Calabrian peppers (from a jar)
- 2 tbsp vodka
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 450g fettuccine
- 2 tbsp butter
- Salt & pepper
For the top
- Grated Parmesan
- Fresh basil
Method
- Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the cherry tomatoes, and cook for 5 minutes until tomatoes have softened. Add the shallots, and cook for another 5 minutes or so until tomatoes begin to burst. Press down with the back of a spatula to help crush them.
- Add the tomato paste and cook for about 5 minutes until the tomato paste is brick red. Add the Calabrian chilli peppers and vodka, mix, and cook for 2-3 minutes until alcohol has cooked off. Add cream, and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat while you cook the pasta.
- Cook the pasta in a heavily salted pot of water until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water, drain, and then add the pasta, butter, and ½ cup pasta water to the skillet on medium low heat. Keep mixing until smooth, adding more pasta water as needed. Sauce should be glossy. Taste, and season with more salt and pepper, if desired. Serve right away with freshly grated Parmesan and basil.
