Penne alla vodka (Italian: [ˈpenne alla ˈvɔdka]) is a pasta dish of penne in a tomato and cream sauce with a small amount of vodka, and sometimes small meats and vegetables such as sausage, pancetta or peas. Sometimes other pasta shapes are used. The alcohol is said to intensify and accentuate flavors in the dish.
 Penne alla vodka with grated cheese | |
| Alternative names | Penne vodka, pasta with vodka sauce, Moscow penne |
|---|---|
| Course | |
| Place of origin | |
| Associated cuisine | |
| Created by | Debated and/or unknown |
| Invented | c. 1980s, possibly earlier |
| Cooking time | 8 minutes to 10 minutes |
| Main ingredients | Penne, cream, tomatoes, onion, vodka |
| Ingredients generally used | Chili flake, garlic, cheese, sausage, pancetta, peas |
The recipe became very popular in Italy and in the United States around the 1980s, when it was offered to discothèque customers.[1] The recipe thus became an icon of the fashionable cuisine of the time, which preferred the use of cream in first courses. Penne alla vodka remains popular in Italian-American cuisine.[2]
Origins
edit
The exact origins of penne alla vodka are unclear, and to some extent the subject of urban legend and folklore.
The first use of vodka in a pasta dish recorded in a cookbook is attested to 1974, when the Italian actor Ugo Tognazzi published the cookbook L'Abbuffone (means 'the bouffe-men', named after Tognazzi's movie La Grande Bouffe), which included his recipe of pasta all'infuriata (lit. 'furious pasta'), described as a sort of pasta all'arrabbiata, made with ½ kg of penne, ½ kg of fresh peeled tomatoes, a shot of vodka, chili pepper, oil, garlic and bay leaves. Tognazzi suggested also that, if using a Polish vodka with chilli ("formidable, tremendous, very strong, very hot, deadly"), the fresh chilli pepper can be omitted.[3]
There have been multiple, often conflicting, claims to the invention and history of the dish; one author claims that it was invented at Dante, a restaurant in Bologna.[4] One cookbook claims that it was invented in the 1980s by a Roman chef for a vodka company that wanted to popularize its product in Italy.[5] The dish may have been common in Italy before becoming popular in America in the early 1980s.[6]
In the 1980s, another recipe based on penne and vodka, called penne alla moscovita (penne Moscow-style), but made with smoked salmon, cream and caviar (or variant with cream and shrimp), became very popular. Because of the particularity and novelty of the recipe compared to traditional Italian cuisine, it was widespread in the discos of the Emilia-Romagna Riviera with the generic name of "penne alla vodka".[citation needed]
On October 25, 2016, the Italian Association of Confectionery and Pasta Industries named it the symbolic dish of the 18th World Pasta Day organized in Moscow, as symbol of friendship between Italy and Russia.[7] Barilla later found penne alla vodka was the second most sought-after dish of pasta in search engines, behind only pasta alla bolognese.[8]
Composition
editThe sauce consists of tomato sauce combined with cream, an unusual combination in Italian cooking.
The ethanol of the vodka enhances and balances the flavors of the tomato and cream.[9]
Similar tomato and cream sauces without vodka are sometimes known as parma rosa or rosatella.[10][11]
In media
editDisco Sauce: The True Story of Penne Alla Vodka was released in 2022 by director Roberto Serrini. The documentary examines the history, composition and variations of penne alla vodka. The film features chef Pasquale Cozzolino, chef Gaetano Arnone, chef Jae Lee, chef JJ Johnson, chef Jeremy Spector and molecular gastronomist Hervé This.[12] Disco Sauce is a platinum Viddy,[13] Platinum MarCom[14] and Taste Award[15] winner.
The May 4th, 2024, episode of Saturday Night Live featured a sketch about penne alla vodka in which it was depicted as a tolerated, but not particularly good, dish often served at events such as weddings, funerals and anniversaries.[16][17]
See also
edit
Media related to Penne alla vodka at Wikimedia Commons
References
edit- ^ Cinzia Alfè (13 October 2017). "Riabilitiamo le penne alla vodka dall'ingiusta condizione di discredito". Dissapore.
- ^ Long, Lucy (17 July 2015). Ethnic American Food Today: A Cultural Encyclopedia. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 321. ISBN 9781442227316.
- ^ Ugo Tognazzi (1974). Penne all'infuriata (in Italian). Milan: Rizzoli Editore. p. 105.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ The ultimate pasta cookbook by Pasquale Bruno New York : Contemporary Books, 1997. ISBN 978-0-8092-3169-0
- ^ Essentials of Italian. Steve Seigelman. Williams Sonoma books, 2008.
- ^ Food for Friends by Barbara Kafka: Harper & Row, 1984
- ^ Svetlana Borisova (25 October 2016). "Il ritorno delle penne alla Vodka". Russia Beyond.
- ^ "Penne alla vodka 2ª ricetta più "cliccata" negli USA: torna di moda il piatto simbolo degli anni '80 nel segno dell'amicizia gastronomica tra Italia e Russia" (PDF). Barilla.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Does Vodka Sauce Really Need Vodka?". Serious Eats. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ "Parma Rosa Sauce Recipe". MyRecipes. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
- ^ "I Tried the Brand-New Trader Joe's Jarred Pasta Sauce, and It's as "Amazing" as Everyone Says". The Kitchn. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
- ^ ”Disco Sauce:The True Story of Penne Alla Vodka” was released in 2022
- ^ ”Disco Sauce:The True Story of Penne Alla Vodka” winner of 2022 Platinum Viddy Award [1]
- ^ ”Disco Sauce:The True Story of Penne Alla Vodka” winner of 2022 Platinum MarCom Award [2]
- ^ "The Taste Awards"
- ^ "SNL's "Penne Alla Vodka" Parody Ad Praises the Lukewarm Catering Dish We've All Eaten". NBC Insider Official Site. 5 May 2024. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ Penne Alla Vodka - SNL. Retrieved 10 May 2024 – via www.youtube.com.