Brad's Vodka Pasta with Spicy Italian Sausage

Creamy, spicy, and deeply flavorful vodka pasta with a glow-up. Easy to make, minimal prep and dishes!

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Bring heavily salted water to a boil in a medium saucepan.

Step 2

Heat a large pan on medium-high, then add olive oil. Once shimmering, add ground sausage to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Break up sausage as fine as you like and cook until crispy bits start to form. Remove from pan with slotted spoon and drain in a bowl with paper towel.

Step 3

While sausage cooks, peel garlic and grate or crush into a paste. Freshly grate 2oz of parmigiano reggiano on finest side of a box grater. Peel and finely dice half of an onion. (Optionally, you could grate it on the largest side of a box grater for a smoother sauce texture)

Step 4

Add pasta to boiling water. Cook 1-2 minutes below package directions. When pasta is finished cooking, drain and reserve at least 1/2c of cooking water.

Step 5

Once sausage is finished cooking, add onion to the pan with remaining sausage fat. Season with salt. Cook until onion is translucent and starting to take on slight color, 3-4 minutes.

Step 6

Add garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. Saute for about 1 minute or until fragrant. Add tomato paste, gochujang, and sugar. Cook until pastes begin to caramelize, about 2-3 minutes. Add cooked sausage back to pan and incorporate.

Step 7

Add vodka to pan. Stir quickly to incorporate into sausage mixture until combined, while scraping up fond from pan. Cook for 2 minutes or until alcohol is burned off. Add half of cream and stir well until combined. Adjust with more cream if necessary to reach desired color. Turn heat down to medium low and cook until slightly thickened.

Step 8

Add 1.5oz of parmigiano reggiano, reserving the rest for serving. Stir well until cheese is incorporated into the sauce. Taste for seasoning and adjust. Add drained pasta with a splash of pasta cooking water and toss well to combine. Adjust thickness of sauce with more pasta cooking water if necessary.

Step 9

Turn off heat and stir in butter well until sauce becomes glossy. Taste for seasoning. Serve immediately, top with remaining parmigiano reggiano.