Carbone Spicy Rigatoni

• active time: 45 minutes
• total time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

3 tbsp butter

1 medium sweet onion, sliced into thin strips

3 cloves garlic

14.5 oz can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes

3 tbsp Calabrian chili paste

1 tsp sugar

3 tbsp vodka

1/2 cup heavy cream

8 oz rigatoni

1/2 cup pasta water

Grated Parmesan

Directions

Bring pot of water to boil (wait until step 6 to cook pasta)

In a large pan over medium low heat, saute onions in 2 tbsp butter with salt and pepper for 15-20 minutes (stirring often) until onions are tender, golden (not browned), and carmelized; remove from pan and set aside

Add 1 tbsp butter to pan and saute the garlic over medium heat for 1 minute

Add San Marzano tomatoes with juice (squeeze into small pieces with hands as put into pan), Calabrian chili paste, sugar, salt and vodka

Once the sauce starts bubbling, cover and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes - then uncover and simmer for 5 more minutes so the alcohol cooks off, breaking tomato chunks into small pieces with spatula

Add the cream and onions and stir until combined, turn off heat until pasta is ready

Boil pasta until al dente (3 minutes less than packet directions), then transfer it into the sauce pan with a mesh strainer spoon to finish cooking, reserving the pasta water

Add 1/4 cup pasta water to the pan and turn the heat to medium; toss the pasta in the sauce and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly and adding pasta water as needed until pasta is at desired tenderness

Serve immediately with freshly grated parm