I was in the mood for a meatless Monday. My neighbors were kind enough to give me some of the basil from their garden over the weekend.  Oh my goodness, it smelled so good!  I wanted to use it in a recipe, so for dinner tonight I made linguine in vodka sauce. I’ve wanted to try and make vodka sauce for what seems like forever, but didn’t want to have a dinner with too much fat.  I decided to make up a vodka sauce using half the fat.  It was easy enough, I just cut the heavy cream in half.  My daughter and husband really enjoyed this meal.  Dennis said it’s his new favorite pasta.  For the second night in a row, Kylie asked me to add a recipe to the cookbook I’m writing for her. Yippee!  I have so many “cookbooks” now where I’m keeping track of my recipes.  Good thing I was an Executive Assistant in my working days. I learned to keep organized.

Kylie was asking if this would be an easy dinner to prepare once she’s out in the working world. This dinner was actually very easy to prepare.  It only calls for a few ingredients, yet really packs a lot of nice flavor.  If you wanted to, you could add chicken.  That would be delicious!

Ingredients

• 1 lb. linguine

• 2 shallots

• 3 garlic cloves

• 1 28-ounce can unsalted, crushed plum tomatoes

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon dried basil

• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

• 1/4 cup vodka

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• 1/4 cup grated paremsan

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 8-10 fresh basil leaves

Directions

In large skillet, melt butter and heat olive oil together.  Add minced shallots and sauté for a couple minutes, until shallots start to soften.  Add minced garlic and immediately add crushed tomatoes.  Next, add kosher salt, dried basil, dried oregano and red pepper flakes. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes while liquid starts to cook down a bit.

Boil linguine per package instructions.

Add vodka and cream to tomato sauce and bring to a boil.  Turn heat to medium and let sauce thicken a bit.  Add noodles directly to sauce, reserving about a cup of the pasta liquid. Add grated parmesan on top of noodles before mixing the noodles into the sauce so the cheese will adhere to the noodles.  Toss noodles and cheese together in pot with vodka sauce.  If sauce seems a bit dry, add some of your reserved pasta water until you reach the consistency you desire. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes.  Once your dish is plated, top with fresh basil and shaved parmesan. Enjoy!

Until next time, Kris