Good quality un-salted butter is a staple in my kitchen вЂ“ my favorite brand is Kerrygold! I buy mine in bulk from Costco, as butter keeps in the freezer up to 5 months.ДЄs mentioned above, Italian food shines with high quality ingredients. You can adjust this to your spice preference вЂ“ I always like a little kick to my food but if you donвЂ™t, use less or omit it altogether! I included a photo of the packaging above in case you want to check it out! I usually make this with fusilli but I love this new pasta shape called CASCATELLI! The ridges and waterfall shape are perfect for picking up as much sauce as possible. You wonвЂ™t get that with canned tomatoes, so I donвЂ™t recommend you sub! the texture of the paste makes the sauce creamier and smoother, coating the pasta in an almost velvet-y way. the tomato paste is super concentrated, which is why this pasta is so incredible flavorful, and 2. This is a KEY ingredient for two reasons: 1. it adds depth to the sauce and concentrates the flavors without adding any flavor of itвЂ™s own.

The small amount of vodka in the recipe does two main things: 1. For me, this means extra virgin olive oil вЂ“ of the three main graves of olive oil (refined, virgin, and extra virgin), extra virgin is the least processed and considered the healthiest & purest form.ДonвЂ™t be scared of the vodka in this recipe! It will get cooked off and will NOT leave any kind of alcoholic taste.

Italian food shines when you use the best quality ingredients вЂ“ therefore, I highly recommend using the best olive oil you can find.

Vodka pasta