While its exact origins are somewhat disputed, penne alla vodka has a long, illustrious history of being everyone’s favorite pink-hued pasta. The classic dish is a mainstay of restaurant menus and TikTok recipe tutorials alike, and it’s not hard to see why. Vodka sauce is salty, sweet, and spicy, not to mention creamy and tangy. Plus, it’s a true pantry meal—I nearly always have the ingredients on hand. But why stop with making penne and rigatoni “alla vodka”? A risotto takes easily to a tomatoey sauce, and unlike the original pasta dish, starchy arborio rice doesn’t even require cream to be silky and rich.
Risotto alla vodka begins by cooking some diced pancetta over low heat. The rendered fat provides a flavorful base for the dish, but if you’re not a meat eater, you can skip this step and simply melt a knob of butter in the pan instead. Once the meat is browned, remove it from the pan and set it aside—this ensures that the pancetta remains crispy for later. Next, cook minced shallots in a bit of the rendered fat (or butter) until soft and golden, followed by a hearty squeeze of tomato paste. When the tomato paste begins to dry out, add a cup of arborio rice and push it around in the pan until lightly toasted. (Don’t rinse the rice, or you’ll wash away the starch, leading to a less creamy risotto!)
Vodka is the namesake ingredient of this dish, but it doesn’t provide much of an alcoholic taste. Instead, the alcohol itself helps to enhance the sauce, as tomatoes contain certain flavor compounds that are only soluble in alcohol. If you don’t have vodka on hand, you can add some white wine or dry vermouth in its place. It won’t have exactly the same effect, but it will provide a fruity, slightly acidic depth that’s equally satisfying. In any case, you’ll want to make sure the alcohol is almost completely evaporated before you begin to add broth a ladleful at a time.
The act of stirring helps to create the uniquely creamy consistency of risotto, but contrary to popular belief, constant stirring isn’t strictly necessary. Stir it well and stir it often, but if you need to leave the room or wash a head of lettuce, just throw a lid over the cooking risotto and try to make it back within about five minutes. Adding a ladleful of broth before you walk away will help keep the risotto from drying out or, worse, sticking to the bottom of the pan. After about 20 minutes of cooking, you should be left with a perfectly creamy bowl of risotto that tastes a lot like the iconic pasta but, miraculously, contains none of the cream. Finish it off with a pat of butter, a handful of cheese, and the reserved crispy pancetta for a weeknight meal that satisfies all your vodka sauce cravings and more.