Vodka sauce

[kingrat]

Yesterday I made a pasta sauce not from a jar for the first time ever. I’d planned on making it on Monday, but what with my thumb getting partially removed and the last dish lasting longer than I expected…

Since my basic cookbooks don’t have a vodka sauce recipe in them, I turned to the internet. AllRecipes.com had a vodka sauce recipe, and that’s what I started with. Steps below are how I made it, which is not exactly what was in the linked recipe.

• 1 cup vodka
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ¾ pound prosciutto
• 3 heaping teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• One 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
• One 15 ounce can no salt added tomato sauce
• 1 cup heavy cream

1. chop prosciutto
2. chop parsley
3. chop basil
4. heat olive oil in a large pan
5. sauté prosciutto, garlic, parsley, and basil until prosciutto is evenly brown
6. add vodka
7. simmer 10 minutes
8. add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and 1 cup water
9. simmer 15 minutes
10. add cream
11. cook 2 minutes

I’m guessing it’ll make six servings. Four so far, and it looks like about two are left.

The sauce was thinner than I expected. Next time I’ll just omit the cup of water. And drop the prosciutto down to a quarter or half pound at most. Normally I’d have used no salt added diced tomatoes too, but when I was poor last month, Deirdre was kind enough to donate a can of diced tomatoes to me. This kind would actually qualify as low-sodium under F.D.A. rules, but when you add it all up it’s still quite a lot.

Salt content:

• Prosciutto: 7680 mg
• Diced tomatoes: 1540 mg
• No salt added tomato sauce: 70 mg
• Cream: 160 mg

Total sodium: 9450 mg
Per serving: 1575 mg

That does not include the pasta. Definitely up there in salt. Cutting down the prosciutto will cut a lot from that. Not sure if there are lower salt prosciuttos out there.

crossposted from King Rat.