Penne with vodka sauce

This is an easy but over the top sauce for pasta. It is really delicious, my husband thinks I should bottle it and sell it. It is basically a regular marinara sauce with the addition of eggplant, zucchini, vodka, and heavy cream. You do not need to add the eggplant or zucchini, but I like the added flavor. You could use a jarred marinara sauce if you do not want to make your own.

I make my basic tomato sauce which varies depending on what I have on hand. I always use one of the big cans of whole imported Italian tomatoes, and some tomato paste. I puree the tomatoes in the blender and then cook them with the tomato paste and seasonings until thick. Any tomato sauce will work in this recipe though.

For this dish I used about 1 quart of tomato sauce. I diced up a couple eggplant and a few zucchini and added them to the sauce along with a cup of vodka. I simmered the sauce on the stove until the veggies were really tender, actually falling apart, and until the sauce was nice and thick. I turned off the heat on the sauce and added some heavy cream, about 1/2 cup, and a handful of grated parmigiano reggiano cheese. I tossed the sauce with a pound of cooked penne.
So, so yummy!