We are currently in the middle of a major redesign of the bathroom. And now the old bath and the shower are out it is a race to get the new stuff back in and useable which means Paul is working flat out into the evenings. Add to this a visit from my mother and the afternoon disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving me with very little time to sort out our evening meal. What could I do that was quick, easy and filling. Pasta is always a good start so pasta it would be. I remembered an article I had read recently about a gin pasta sauce so I thought I’d have a go, with a couple of adaptations. Since we have a glut of late tomatoes I used those rather than tinned chopped tomatoes, used full fat soft cheese and reduced the amount of chilli flakes. As a pasta sauce it tasted like my usual tomato based sauce and I wasn’t overly impressed. For me, the addition of the gin did nothing to enhance the flavour; it seemed a waste of a quarter of a bottle of gin for very little reward. Anyway, here is the recipe plus a link to the original recipe for those of you who might like to try it.
- 500g penne pasta
- ½ onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- ¼ tsp. dried red chilli
- 1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes or 40g chopped fresh tomatoes
- 230ml gin
- Pinch of sugar
- 100ml single cream
- 200g soft cheese
- Parmesan cheese
- Cook your pasta according to the packet instructions
- Add olive oil to a pan and sauté the onions, garlic, and red chilli flakes on medium heat until the onions are soft but not browned.
- Add in the chopped fresh tomatoes and simmer for a further five minutes.
- Remove from heat and use a stick blender to mix the sauce until it is smooth. (you can use a blender if you prefer a smoother sauce)
- Add the gin and a pinch of sugar to the sauce.
- Return to the heat and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer until the alcohol cooks off from the gin, about 20 minutes.
- Add the soft cheese, cream and Parmesan cheese.
- Season to taste
- Mix with the drained pasta.
- Garnish with Parmesan cheese and serve.