Never blow a full paycheck on spicy rigatoni again.
It's Labor Day weekend while everybody is trying to slip into their teeny-weeny red, white and blue bikini. I'm over here making pasta for myself. It's called self-love people.
One of my favorite pasta recipes to make is a play on Gigi Hadid's Spicy Rigatoni recipe that she shared a couple years back when announcing her pregnancy on Instagram. I've taken a new approach to it while adding some of the traditional methods from the New York City restaurant Carbone while still adhering to some of the vegan restrictions to keep the cal-count low, you know because, why not. So here's my take on the recipe. I hope you enjoy it and remember there are tons of substitutions you can make for your preference.
Ingredients:
¼ cup butter (use olive oil to keep vegan)
1 small clove of garlic, diced
1 shallot
¼ cup tomato paste
½ cup coconut cream (Use heavy cream if you don’t to be vegan)
1 tablespoon vodka
1 teaspoon Calabrian peppers (use pepper flakes if you don’t have on hand) I ordered mine on amazon, linked here.
1 box rigatoni pasta
¼ cup vegan parmesan cheese (use dairy parmesan cheese if desired)
Basil, chopped, to serve
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
In a large saucepan, heat the butter, garlic and shallots. Cook until soft, and almost dissolved.
Add tomato paste and cook until it appears slightly darker and caramelized.
Add in Calabrian peppers.
Add in the vodka and cook through until evaporated.
Add in coconut cream.
Keep stirring until combined. Season with salt and pepper. Remove sauce from the heat.
Cook pasta separately and reserve ¼ cup pasta water
Add in parmesan cheese
Stir over a medium heat until everything is combined.
Add pasta – and the pasta water – to the sauce. Add more parmesan cheese and stir if desired.
Add more salt and pepper to taste with fresh basil