Pancetta and Calabrian Chili Pasta Alla Vodka
Perfect Pasta Night In
This pancetta and calabrian chili pasta alla vodka is a perfect pasta. It’s savory, creamy, salty, and just a little spicy from the calabrian chilis. This pasta dish is a perfect weeknight indulgence or quick way to uplevel a weekend meal. Served with a salad or finished with a delicious dessert and you suddenly have a very special meal.
Pasta is absolutely one of my favorite comfort meals. It’s so comforting and so versatile! Using different sauces, vegetables, noodle shapes, and proteins keeps each dish interesting. This iteration in particular came out of a random weekend night where my husband and I made dinner at home. It was such a hit with the both of us, I knew I needed to share it broadly!
Pancetta and Calabrian Chili Pasta Recipe Tips
When you make this pancetta and calabrian pasta alla vodka, here are a few tips to make sure it’s delicious:
- If you struggle to find fermented calabrian chilis, you can sub for jarred calabrian chilis. I love the fermented ones when I can find them, it adds an extra layer of delicious flavor!
- The water left in the pot after boiling your pasta is culinary liquid gold. The salty, starchy water adds so much flavor to your pasta sauce, you’ll think it was made in a restaurant. For this recipe, I will use the entire cup of reserved pasta water. It creates the perfect consistency for the sauce and the extra flavor can’t be beat.
- When shopping for pasta, alway look for a pasta that’s of higher quality. It will cost a small amount more, but create a significantly better dish. Look at the noodles and if they have a slight texture to them or look floury, those are the ones you want. The texture indicates it was made with a higher quality extruder and will allow the sauce to grip on to the noodles better.
Recipe Details
Do Some Prep and Make the Vodka Sauce
To get the cooking process started, bring a large pot of water to a boil and set a large frying or saute pan over medium heat. Once your saute pan is warm, add the olive oil and let it heat up for about 1 minute. Add the cubed pancetta to the pan and arrange it into a singular layer. Let the pancetta fry until it’s mostly crisped up. Toss in the minced shallot, garlic, and calabrian chilis in the pancetta. Let these aromatics cook until they are softened and very fragrant.
Stir in the tomato paste, letting the paste cook and darken in color. Doing this deepens the tomato flavor and lets the ingredients meld together. Carefully pour in the vodka, stirring it into the tomato paste. Let the vodka cook out until all of the liquid has evaporated.
To finish the sauce, add the heavy cream, butter, and parmesan cheese. Stir everything together, letting the butter and parmesan cheese melt into the sauce. Keep the sauce on low heat while the pasta boils.
Boil the Pasta and Finish the Dish
While the pancetta and calabrian vodka sauce is finishing up, boil the dried pasta in salty water. For this recipe, boil the pasta one minute less than the package directions, because it will finish cooking in the sauce later. Before you drain the pasta, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water to add into the pasta sauce.
After draining the pasta, add the cooked noodles and half of the reserved pasta water into the pan with the sauce. Toss everything together, adding a bit more pasta water to the sauce if you want a thinner consistency. Let the noodles cook in the sauce for about 1 minute, letting the sauce soak into the pasta.
Divide the pasta into 4 servings and top with a generous serving of grated parmesan cheese and fresh basil. Enjoy right away! If there are any leftovers, keep them in a glass air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat with a bit of water in the microwave or on the stovetop.
For other lovers of pasta alla vodka, be sure to also try out my Cherry Tomato Pasta Alla Vodka. It's made with fresh, Summer cherry tomatoes and topped with crispy prosciutto!
If you make this calabrian chili pasta, be sure to leave a comment or give this recipe a rating - I can’t wait to hear how it goes. As always, tag me on Instagram or Facebook in your photos. It makes me feel like we’re getting to cook together!
Pancetta and calabrian chili pasta alla vodka has a rich tomato sauce with the subtle heat of calabrian chilis. An incredibly flavorful pasta sauce perfect for any night of the week.
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 oz cubed pancetta
- 1 large shallot, minced
- 3 clove garlic, minced
- 1-2 tsp chopped, fermented Calabrian chilis, to taste
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 1/2 cup vodka
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 lb dried, short noodles
- 1 tsp salt, plus more for seasoning the pasta water
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- fresh basil, for garnish
Bring a large pot of water to boil.
Preheat a large saute pan over medium heat and warm the olive oil for one minute.
Add the cubed pancetta to the pan and arrange into a single layer. Cook the pancetta until slightly crisped, 5 minutes, stirring every minute or so.
Add the minced shallot, garlic, and calabrian chili, to the pan and mix into the pancetta. Cook until very fragrant, about 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add tomato paste to the pan and stir into the pancetta and aromatics. Continuously stir until the tomato paste has slightly darkened in color, 1 minute.
Carefully pour in the vodka, stirring it into the tomato paste. Cook until the liquid has reduced, 1 minute.
Turn the heat under the pan to low and add the heavy cream, grated parmesan cheese, and butter. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and keep warm under low heat.
Meanwhile, boil the pasta in salty water according to the package directions, minus 1 minute. Reserve ½ cup - 1 cup of the pasta water before draining.
Add ½ cup of the pasta water to the sauce. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and toss to coat.
Let the noodles cook in the sauce for 1 minute, allowing the sauce to cook into the pasta.
Divide the pasta into bowls and garnish with fresh basil and extra grated parmesan cheese.
