From the Martinique to Your Table - Our Chef Shares His Recipe for Rigatoni a la Vodka

From the Martinique to your table - the chef at the Cafe Martinique shares his recipe for Rigatoni a la Vodka -

Ingredients:
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
3 shots vodka
1/4 cup olive oil
1 can whole plum tomatoes
2 small cans tomato paste
1 qt heavy cream (or you can use a combination of light and heavy cream)
1 small bunch of fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 stick butter
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Directions:
Chop onion and garlic and cook in olive oil until soft.
Form mixture into a circle with a hole in the middle, pour vodka in the center of the circle and allow to cook off (about 5 minutes). **Pour vodka into a shot glass or other wide-rimmed container before pouring into the pot. Never pour alcohol directly from a bottle into a hot pan. It is flammable and there is a chance that flames could find there way into the bottle and cause it to explode.
Rinse plum tomatoes under water and rinse out all the seeds. (Seeds make the sauce bitter.) Cut into quarters or eighths and add tomato pieces to mixture. Add cream and tomato paste, stir until combined and hot. Chop approximately 5 basil leaves and add to the sauce. (Save additional basil leaves for garnish.)

Add cheese and butter and simmer over low heat for approximately 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rigatoni pasta.