Ina Garten's penne alla vodka is one of my favorite homemade pasta dishes.Anneta Konstantinides/Business InsiderI love making Ina Garten's pasta recipes, so I had to try her penne alla vodka.Garten roasts her pasta sauce in the oven, infusing the dish with so much flavor.The beautiful dish is one of the most delicious pastas I've ever made.Ever since I began ranking Ina Garten's pasta dishes back in 2021, nothing has come close to topping her weeknight Bolognese.That all changed when I tried her penne alla vodka.The recipe was inspired by one of Garten's favorite dishes, the Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola from Nick & Toni's, a restaurant in East Hampton.Now, it has a permanent spot on my list of best Barefoot Contessa dishes.You probably already have most of the ingredients for Ina Garten's penne alla vodka.Anneta Konstantinides/Business InsiderTo make Garten's penne alla vodka for four, you'll need:¾ pound of penne (Garten recommends DeCecco)2 ½ cups of chopped yellow onions2 28-ounce cans of whole peeled plum tomatoes, drained3 minced garlic cloves1 cup of vodka1 cup of heavy cream½ cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese (plus extra for serving)¼ cup of good olive oil2 tablespoons of chopped fresh oregano leaves (plus extra for serving)1 ½ teaspoons of dried oregano½ teaspoon of red pepper flakesTo get started, I chopped my onions and minced my garlic.Anneta Konstantinides/Business InsiderMy prep was done in a matter of minutes.I threw the onions into my Dutch oven, where I had already heated some olive oil.Anneta Konstantinides/Business InsiderI cooked my onions over medium-low heat for about five minutes, until they turned translucent.I added the garlic, red pepper flakes, and oregano once my onions were cooked.Anneta Konstantinides/Business InsiderI cooked everything together for one minute.Then I added the vodka.Anneta Konstantinides/Business InsiderThe recipe says to simmer everything together for about five to seven minutes, until the mixture has reduced by half.Next, I threw in the whole peeled plum tomatoes.Anneta Konstantinides/Business InsiderI crushed each whole tomato into the pot with my hand, per Garten's instructions.After seasoning the sauce with salt and pepper, I covered my pot and threw it into the oven.I baked my tomato mixture for one-and-a-half hours.Anneta Konstantinides/Business InsiderThe sauce needs to bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, so I started cooking long before dinner.It's not the quickest meal, but I promise this dish is worth the wait!Just before my sauce was ready, I began cooking the pasta.Anneta Konstantinides/Business InsiderI brought a large pot of salted water to a boil and added the penne.I cooked my pasta until it was al dente, which took about 10 minutes. Then I drained my noodles and set them aside.Once my sauce was out of the oven, I threw it in the blender.Once my sauce was out of the oven, I threw it in the blender.Anneta Konstantinides/Business InsiderGarten says to purée the tomato mixture using a blender or food processor until it's smooth.I poured my puréed tomato mixture back into the Dutch oven.Anneta Konstantinides/Business InsiderI seasoned the mixture with salt and pepper, then added the fresh oregano and heavy cream.The color transformed as I stirred the pot.Anneta Konstantinides/Business InsiderThe hue reminded me of the famous vodka pasta at Jon & Vinny's in Los Angeles.I partially covered my Dutch oven and let the sauce simmer.Anneta Konstantinides/Business InsiderThe sauce should simmer for 10 minutes.When my sauce was ready, I threw in the pasta.Anneta Konstantinides/Business InsiderI let the pasta cook for two more minutes in the sauce.I took my Dutch oven off the heat and stirred in the Parmesan cheese.Anneta Konstantinides/Business InsiderDinner was ready!As I topped everything with extra Parmesan and oregano, I couldn't help but admire the dish.Garten's penne alla vodka had the most beautiful color.Anneta Konstantinides/Business InsiderThis is, without a doubt, the most beautiful pasta I've ever made.Garten's penne alla vodka is simply fantastic.Anneta Konstantinides/Business InsiderThe sauce is so creamy and smooth without being heavy and overwhelming. Slowly roasting the tomato sauce in the oven added depth and complexity to the vodka sauce, which I actually loved even more than my favorite from Jon & Vinny's. My only wish was that I had made some of Garten's "outrageous" garlic bread to go with it!While Garten's pasta needs a bit more time in the oven, it doesn't require many steps. The actual prep and cooking were pretty minimal, but the penne still looked really impressive.Whether you need a recipe to dazzle everyone with or want to whip up a comforting dish, there's truly no better pasta than this.Read the original article on Business Insider
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