Caroline Chambers, the culinary creator behind the wildly popular What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking Substack, knows a thing or two about getting a quick weeknight dinner on the table without sacrificing big flavors. Case in point: Her stunning Calabrian chili cherry tomato alla vodka, which celebrates ripe summer tomatoes by cooking them down into a sweet, jammy sauce poured over tender noodles.
While Chambers' recipe is meat-free, she tells us that you can easily bulk up this simple dinner with more protein: "Italian sausage would be great here. Buy ground Italian pork or chicken sausage (spicy or mild — your choice based on spice preference), add it to the skillet after you’ve sautéed the shallot and garlic, and cook until browned, breaking it up into little crumbles with your spatula. If there’s a lot of grease in the pan after it cooks, pour that off, then proceed with the recipe as written. (If there isn’t a lot of grease, just skip that!)"
Not a fan of sausage? Chambers encourages you to personalize the meal to your liking: "You could also just cook chicken or shrimp on the grill or stovetop to serve with it. This ultimate grill guide has lots of ideas for simply cooked proteins."
Speaking of personalization, Chambers points out that this is your dinner — so if you're not a fan of spicy food, simply adjust the recipe to your taste: "If you want more subtle heat, use 1 to 2 teaspoons. If you want no spice, omit it."
And if you've got a busy week ahead of you and anticipate being low on time and energy, you can prep most of this meal in advance: "Go ahead and cook the sauce up to three days ahead of time! Boil your noodles right before you plan to eat dinner. Meanwhile, reheat the sauce in a pot on the stove, adding as much pasta cooking water from the noodles you boil as needed to loosen it back up/coat the noodles well."
Lastly, Chambers suggests using whatever pasta you've got on hand — but if you're headed to the market and want a specific recommendation, she's got that, too: "Mezzi rigatoni is my fave here — it’s basically a shorter version of regular rigatoni — but any short, tubular pasta is great. Or use bowtie pasta or spaghetti if it’s all you’ve got! Sub in a gluten-free noodle alternative, if needed."
If you're already in love with Chambers' unique voice and her taste for doable weeknight meals, you're in luck. Chambers is offering a 30-day free trial to her Substack, which is bursting with recipes that are as easy as they are nourishing.
Calabrian Chili Cherry Tomato Alla Vodka
Author: Caroline Chambers
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 23 min
Calories: 635
Servings: 6
Ingredients
Tools
- Large pot
- Chef’s knife
- Cutting board
- Large saucepan or Dutch oven (it needs to be big enough to fit the sauce and a pound of pasta)
- Box grater, microplane, or blender to grate your Parm
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 1 pound rigatoni (preferably mezzi rigatoni!)
- 1 large shallot, peeled and minced
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- ¼ cup vodka
- 1 tablespoon Calabrian chili paste (or much less if you don’t like spice!)
- 2 pounds cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan (ideally Parmigiano-Reggiano) cheese, plus more for serving
- Freshly ground black pepper, for serving
Directions
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water (2 tablespoons of kosher salt in the water is my general rule of thumb!) to a boil and cook 1 pound rigatoni until al dente (read the box to find your pasta’s ideal cook time). Very important: Scoop out about 1 cup of the pasta cooking water before you drain the pasta! Set the pasta water aside.
- While the water comes to a boil and the pasta cooks, make the sauce.
- Mince 1 large shallot and 4 garlic cloves.
- Melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the minced shallot and garlic and a big pinch of kosher salt. Cook until they’re soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons tomato paste and stir constantly until it becomes dark red, about 3 minutes.
- Stir in ¼ cup vodka and 1 tablespoon Calabrian chili paste (or less, if you don’t want it to be spicy) and crank the heat up to medium-high. Stir for about 30 seconds, until the mixture is thick and pasty.
- Stir in 2 pounds whole cherry tomatoes and a big pinch of kosher salt. Lower the heat to medium, cover the saucepan, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until the tomatoes start to burst.
- Now is a good time to grate 1 cup of Parmesan. You can grate it using a box grater, microplane, or your blender. To use the blender, throw chunks of Parm in and pulse until it reaches a grated consistency.
- Uncover and stir for several more minutes until the tomatoes are really starting to burst and get saucy. Use your spatula or the back of a spoon to lightly press and release their juices, if needed.
- Stir in 1 cup heavy cream. Once it’s warm, very slowly sprinkle and stir in 1 cup of grated Parmesan a little at a time, only adding more Parm once the previous bit has had time to melt into the sauce.
- Add the drained cooked pasta into the sauce. Stir to coat. If it’s too thick, loosen with a splash of pasta cooking water (you will have pasta water left over — just throw out whatever you don’t use!). Taste and add more kosher salt if needed.
- Serve in low bowls with more grated Parm and some freshly cracked black pepper on top.
