Make some room on the holiday table for this extra cheesy dish by Tori Falzon of Into The Sauce.

| By Rachael Thompson | Recipes

This Easy Vodka Pasta Bake Will Be Your New Festive Season Favourite

Make some room on the holiday table for this extra cheesy dish by Tori Falzon of Into The Sauce.

Welcome to Put on a Spread, a recipe series that takes you inside the kitchens – and dining rooms – of some of our favourite home cooks. For this instalment, Tori Falzon of Into the Sauce shares her recipe for vodka pasta bake.

Ingredients

For the stuffing

  • 700g ricotta
  • 100g Parmesan, finely grated
  • ⅛ tsp nutmeg, finely grated or grounded

For the sauce

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 60g unsalted butter
  • 4 shallots, finely chopped
  • 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • 260g double concentrate tomato paste
  • 3 tbsp vodka
  • 600ml cooking cream
  • 1 cup fresh basil leaves

For the bake

  • 250g conchiglioni (large pasta shells)
  • 200g fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
  • 100g Parmesan, finely grated

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 185°C.
  2. Add ricotta, 100g Parmesan, and nutmeg to a mixing bowl, and stir until incorporated. Taste and season.
  3. Heat oil and butter in a large pan on medium.
  4. Add shallots, garlic and chilli flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent.
  5. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until the colour deepens.
  6. Add vodka and stir constantly until the liquid has mostly evaporated.
  7. Add cream and stir until incorporated.
  8. Season with a good pinch of salt, and stir through basil leaves.
  9. Remove from heat and cover with a lid so a skin doesn’t form.
  10. Meanwhile, cook pasta in salty water until very al dente (minus approx three minutes from the packet instructions cooking time).
  11. Spoon a layer of vodka sauce on the bottom of a lasagna dish.
  12. Gently spoon the ricotta filling into each conchiglioni shell, filling them to about three-quarters full (you don’t want to overpack them or you’ll run out of stuffing. Also note there will likely be some pasta leftover), and then place them in the baking dish.
  13. Cover with vodka sauce, then fresh mozzarella, then sprinkle over the remaining Parmesan.
  14. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the Parmesan is golden. You can finish it under the grill if the top needs more browning.
  15. Rest for 10 minutes before serving with a green salad.

Welcome to Bed Threads

It looks like you’re in the United Kingdom. Enjoy…

  • Free shipping UK-wide
  • Easy returns
  • All duties and taxes included