So rich, so flavorful and inspired by the best pasta sauce I've ever had.
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.
Steps
1
Mise en Place
Ingredients
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.
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.
3
Cooking the Meatballs
Ingredients
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.
4
Mise en Place
Ingredients
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.
5
Saute the Veg
Ingredients
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.
6
Building the Sauce
Ingredients
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.
7
Finishing the Sauce
Ingredients
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.
The First 3 Are On Us
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I am new to this site and I'm just learning my way around it. I have read the recipe over and over again but I can't find where the ground pork goes. Can anybody help me out?
Amanda
Thanks for that catch.
I think I'm better at creating recipes and playing with them then I am at writing them down. I don't think I've made meatballs the same way since writing this down. Every time is a new generation trying to improve on the last time. I think that's what cooking needs to be about. Not following so much as taking inspiration and making it your own. I hope this recipe inspires you to try something new and improve on what I did and then you can share your creation with us.
Thanks again for finding the missing pork and I've updated the recipe.
I made this tonight and it was really good. Lots of flavour and therefore I'll make it again.
Next time though I'd like to add some spinach or something more "green" just to make it look a little more colourful.
Also, I used single cream to make it less sweet and that worked for me better.
I thought it was a lot of food (meatballs) for four people - I made thirty meatballs from the 2lbs of meat.
Great though. Thanks.
The more I learn about cooking the more I want to go back and change my own recipes. I see at least three things I'd like to change right away. Starting with using fresh tomato sauce which I didn't know how easy it was to make when creating this the first time. That's what I use with this recipe now.
I now cut the cream in half. I like the idea of the spinach though it was not part of the original dish I was trying to copy I think it would be great. I think taking the inspiration and adding whatever you want to try is key. I rarely follow a recipe even my own after reading this one over again.
My version of the meatballs called for 1lb of meat not 2 but seriously can you really have too many meatballs? I may just up mine next time too.
Glad you enjoyed my version now go make it your own!
Steve E •Thanks for that catch. I think I'm better at creating recipes and playing with them then I am at writing them down. I don't think I've made meatballs the same way since writing this down. Every time is a new generation trying to improve on the last time. I think that's what cooking needs to be about. Not following so much as taking inspiration and making it your own. I hope this recipe inspires you to try something new and improve on what I did and then you can share your creation with us. Thanks again for finding the missing pork and I've updated the recipe.