Chef's Notes
This sauce was inspired by a restaurant in San Francisco where I had a Romanoff sauce for the first time. It was a bad night where nothing was going right but this sauce brought me out of my funk and since then Vodka sauce has always put a smile on my face and I don’t even drink Vodka.
This is so good on any pasta but I like anything you can eat with a fork but not have to roll around it.
Step 1: Mise en Place
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 1 tbs corriander
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tbs rosemary
- 2 clove garlic
- 3 shallots
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 1/4 bread crumbs
- salt and pepper
Put the ground beef and ground pork into a large metal bowl. It’s a good idea to mix your dry spices together in a bowl so you don’t have to pick up spice containers with raw meat on our hands. I actually like to combine the grated cheese, bread crumbs and spices so I have it all in one place.
Finely chop up the fresh rosemary, shallot and garlic. Separate the egg yolk and add it to the bowl.
Add the spices, shallot, garlic and cheese in stages while you work it all into the meat. By the time your done should have one huge meatball. Be sure to wash our hands off before you start to shape the balls.
Step 2: Shaping the Meatballs
Before you start to shape the balls it’s a good idea to wet your hands so the meat will not stick so much. Roll them into small bite size balls about an inch 1/2 in diameter.
Step 3: Cooking the Meatballs
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 tbs butter
Turn your oven to 350 degrees.
Heat a pan over medium high heat. When hot add the oil and butter. Put all the balls into the pan and when they have good color turn them. Keep turning them every few minutes till they have a nice brown coating.
Put the pan into hot oven for about ten minutes.
Step 4: Mise en Place
- 1 onion
- 2 cups mushrooms
- 2 cloves garlic
Finely dice the onion and garlic but keep separate. Clean and slice the mushrooms into thin pieces.
Step 5: Saute the Veg
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 2 tbs butter
- 1/2 cup vodka
- salt and pepper
Heat a good sized pan over medium high heat. When it’s hot add the oil and butter and onion. Cook till translucent.
Now add the mushrooms and begin to sweat them. Add salt and pepper. When the liquid has cooked out and the mushrooms have good color add the vodka to deglaze the pan. Once the vodka has all but evaporated add the garlic and cook for only 30 seconds before moving to next step.
Step 6: Building the Sauce
- 28 oz tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
Add the tomato paste and stir it in for a minute. You can buy diced tomatoes but I just take a can of any tomatoes and put them into a food processor for 10 seconds to break them up to a sauce like consistency. Add the tomatoes and stir it all together. Turn the heat down to medium low. Put on a pot of salted water for the pasta.
Step 7: Finishing the Sauce
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Handful of fresh basil
- salt
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
When the sauce has thickened after about fifteen minutes stir in the cream. Once the cream has come up to temperature add the cheese then tear the the basil leaves up, add them and check for seasoning.
Simmer till it reduces a bit.
While the sauce simmers put your pasta in. When the pasta is Al Dente hold back a cup of pasta water when you drain the noodles. Fold the pasta into the sauce and when the pasta soaks up the sauce add a bit of that pasta water to loosen it up some more.
Plate with some fresh grated Parmesan cheese.