It’s PEAK TOMATO TIME, and we can’t let it wrap without a new summer tomato pasta!
I wrote this recipe way back in May and have been craving and cooking this pasta all summer long. And now that we’ve entered Sungold season, I’m excited to cook it again using those super-sweet bright-orange beauties.
Last time we made pasta alla vodka, it was the dead of winter, so we leaned very heavily into tomato paste. In today’s recipe, since tiny tomatoes are at peak harvest, we’re bringing them into the fold, too. You can use cherry, grape, or Sungold tomatoes, whatever looks best at the grocery store or market, or whatever’s growing in your backyard. You can also use big heirloom tomatoes if that’s what you’ve got — just squeeze the watery “guts” out before you chop them up.
We’ll add the classic vodka sauce elements — vodka and heavy cream — then finish things off with a hit of Calabrian chili (or red pepper flakes, if you can’t find it).
Every single one of my kids loves this pasta! Because the sauce simmers, the alcohol largely cooks out of it, so I personally am not concerned by it. But if you want to omit the vodka, you can swap it out for 2 tablespoons of water plus 2 tablespoons of a light-colored vinegar like apple cider or white wine vinegar. And/or lemon zest!
When I plan to serve this meal to my boys, I do go lighter on the Calabrian chili paste because it adds a nice bit of heat. You can omit it entirely, or cut it back to a teaspoon. OR, you can cook this vodka sauce as written and just pull some of the plain cooked noodles out for them to top with butter or jarred marinara or Parmesan cheese or whatever else they like on their noodles!
As always, you’ll find lots of additional notes beneath the recipe, like how to stretch this meal and/or bulk it up with some meat, how to freeze it, etc.
I cook this pasta from start to finish in the latest episode of the What To Cook show. Watch it here and let me know if you learned anything from the episode!
Here’s my very first tiny tomato pasta recipe that’s simple, classic, and delicious. If you’re a new owner of Make It Fast, you may have noticed it made its way into the book! Find it on page 78. Sunshine pasta is another option you should cook before tomato season ends. You’ll give fresh summer tomatoes a sunbath — it really is a fun one! And finally, if you’re cooking this recipe months in the future (or if you live in the southern hemisphere!) and there aren’t perfectly ripe tomatoes all around you, make this more classic pasta alla vodka, in which we harness the power of tomato paste instead of fresh tomatoes.
Click here for the full index of What To Cook recipes categorized by protein, cook time, and mood.
Serves 6
Cook time: 25 minutes
Tools:
Large pot
Large saucepan or Dutch oven (it needs to be big enough to fit the sauce and a pound of pasta)
Box grater, microplane, or blender to grate your Parm
Ingredients:
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