Creamy Vodka Sauce

This vodka sauce recipe, adapted from my cookbook "Let's Eat" (Union Square & Co., 2023), leans into the creamier, glossier side of this traditional Italian sauce. It avoids using alliums like shallot or onion or salty meats like bacon or pancetta at the start of the recipe, instead focusing on whisking up a smooth sauce that highlights the famously sweet and tangy flavor that results from cooking the alcohol out of the vodka. While most traditionally used on pasta, this sauce also brings new life to chicken Parmesan or pizza. It is easily made vegan with the use of non-dairy cream substitutes, and comes back to life as leftovers by adding just a splash or two of pasta water while reheating.