If vodka has no taste, why is it in so many pasta sauce recipes? —Laurie T., Clayton
Most recipes that call for alcohol—wine, beer, or a spirit—do so because of the respective flavor that gets added. Not so for vodka.
There are those who inject it into a watermelon or add a few dashes to kick up a fresh fruit salad, but vodka most often gets added to pasta sauces, specifically sauces made with tomatoes and cream. There are several reasons.
Denser milk products (such as cream) can separate, especially when an acid (like tomatoes) is introduced. Vodka acts as an emulsifier, a binder, and will prevent the cream from separating. “I don’t know how it works; I just know that it works,” says Rich LoRusso, who uses the spirit in Ziti Con Vodka (ziti tossed in a spicy tomato cream sauce with vodka and Italian sausage, topped with shaved Parmesan), a dish that's been on the menu at LoRusso’s Cucina since 2000.
And because vodka is a great solvent (alcohol is the catalyst in bitters, tinctures, elixirs, and many herbal cure-alls), it extracts flavors and aromas from herbs and spices where water alone can’t.
“Vodka adds depth to a sauce both by pulling out additional flavor and concentrating others without adding a flavor of its own," says Bart Saracino, co-owner of the Bartolino’s Restaurants, where Cavatelli alla Vodka (shell noodles, sautéed shrimp, fresh garlic, light olive oil, a splash of vodka, and cream reduction) is a popular dish. (Sometimes, however, you want that flavor, which is why chefs like LoRusso will use a buttery chardonnay or brandy to finish different sauces.)
Filippo’s Joe Sanfilippo says that vodka also mellows the acids in a creamy tomato sauce and is a crucial component in his signature dish Rigatoni Giuseppe (fresh tomatoes in spicy cream sauce). In some recipes, he says, the alcohol remains; in others, it evaporates. “We used to to get fancy and make the dish table side, adding the vodka at the end and then flaming it all off,” he says.
So should a home cook use a cheap or expensive vodka when making a pasta sauce? "It's best not to skimp," says LoRusso, "because chances are, you’ll be the one drinking the rest of the bottle.”
If you have a question for George, email him at gmahe@stlmag.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @stlmag_dining. For more from SLM, subscribe or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
