Maccheroni
Yellow Tomato, Yellow Pepper, Vodka
Ugh. That song. That stupid song. Nobody ever put a feather in their cap and called it maccheroni. Unless feather is code for pasta and cap is code for my mouth, but that song is way older than my pasta eating days. Plus, real imported maccheroni is a beautiful sight. Prettier than most feathers. Looking like a smaller curved rigatoni, these special ridged tubes from Naples stem from the Greek word μακάριος (makarios) which translates to “blessed”. That makes sense – who doesn’t feel that way with a bowl of God’s good gluten in front of them? The word macaroni has been homogenized here to mean elbows with some unnaturally powdered cheese sauce. This pasta deserves better than that.
It’s tomato season here now, which is honestly the best season of the summer. We have access to some of the most beautifully curated heirlooms. Purple, pink red, yellow, orange, and green. All equally delicious, and each have their own personalities once you eat enough of them. This recipe comes from a massive haul of yellow tomatoes. So I took the time to create a true yellow tomato sauce that then gets cannibalized into a vodka sauce. The addition of the yellow pepper gives these extra sweet tomatoes an additional pop of color and flavor. The visual of the final dish looks like macaroni and cheese, but the taste is all sweet sweet vodka sauce.
Servings: 4 - Time: 1.5hrs + - Difficulty: 2 - Take-a Your Time
Ingredients & Mise en Place
16 oz. maccheroni
3 large yellow heirloom tomatoes - diced
1 yellow pepper - diced
¼ cup vodka
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup white wine
5 garlic cloves - minced
2 shallots - minced
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. butter
calabrian chili - chopped - optional
fresh Italian flat leaf parsley - finely chopped
grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
white pepper
Equipment
immersion blender/blender/food processor
Directions
Sauce
In a stock pot over medium heat add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once the oil is hot add the garlic, shallot, and butter (for extra fat) and cook until fragrant and soft - about 2 minutes. Next, add in the tomatoes, yellow pepper, and white wine. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and simmer for at least one hour. The longer you simmer the bolder the flavor will be.
Once the tomatoes have reduced, switch to low heat and use an immersion blender to puree/liquify the sauce. Add a little water if the sauce has become too thick. If your yellow tomatoes are acidic, you can add sugar to taste. Salt and pepper to taste. Next, add in the vodka and cook uncovered for about 30 minutes to burn off the alcohol.
Once the alcohol has burned off, add in the cream slowly while stirring constantly. Bring to a low simmer for about 10 minutes. The sauce is then ready, you can either use it right away with the pasta, or let it come to room temperature before jarring. Jarred sauce can last up to a week in the refrigerator.
Final Pasta Assembly
Bring a large stock pot of heavily salted water to a boil and add in the pasta. Cook until al dente, which for maccheroni is about12 minutes for al dente. Once it has finished cooking strain the pasta and add to a deep sauté pan. Ladle the vodka sauce over the pasta and toss to heavily coated. (Depending on the size of tomatoes you may have left over sauce, and if you do, try it on pizza or a burger or sandwich instead of ketchup or mayo.)
Last toss in the parsley and about ¼ cup cheese, and then divide into 4 portions. Top each portion with cheese, Calabrian chilis (for optional spice) and a splash of that good olive oil.