Nduja Burrata Mezzelune with a Vodka Cream Sauce

Spicy and red for February 14th.

Penne alla vodka is a retro Italian classic.  I like classics, they're there for a reason (meaning good).  I had bought this n'duja burrata filled pasta and thought it might pair well with a tomato and cream, vodka sauce.  If you can't find this particular filled pasta, we still have a great sauce.  N'duja is a spicy, Calabrian (southern Italian) meat paste and Burrata is a creamy mozzarella type cheese.  Cullinary Yang and Yin in pasta parcels (I thought fitting for today).

A rich tomato sauce (more later) with onion, carrot, basil and celery.  I also add a cheeky piece of parmesan rind to the sauce, scraped of wax.

Then, we mash or blend the cooked sauce and simmer it with chilli and vodka.  Finally, add cream or crème fraiche and parmesan.

Finish your partly cooked pasta of choice in the sauce.

Sauce (3):

Rich tomato sauce:

1 medium onion, finely diced

1 small carrot, peeled and finely diced

1 stalk of celery (guess what?  Chop finely)

1 400g tin of crushed tomatoes

Basil Leaves, around 6

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 TBSP olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 piece of parmesan rind, wax removed

Vodka cream:

90 ml vodka

3 TBSP grated parmesan

1/2 tsp chill flakes

3 TBSP cream or crème fraiche

Pasta:

255g of penne pasta or 375g n'duja burrata ravioli, cooked according to packet instructions.

Method (sauce):

Place all the rich tomato sauce ingredients in a pan, stir briefly and cover with a lid.

When the sauce starts to sommer, reduce the heat to minimum, cover and cook 1 hour. Stir occasionally.

Mash the mixture with a potato masher (or blend) until creamy.

Pan fry the chilli flakes in olive oil, add to the sauce with vodka and cook over a low heat until it reduces by 1/4 (around 15 minutes).

Stir in the cream and warm through.

Stir in the cheese and your partly cooked pasta to finish the pasta in your delicious sauce.

More N'duja from Loïc (he inspired today's post):

Tagliatelle with Prawns and n'duja