The Type Of Canned Tomatoes You Need For A Richer Vodka Sauce

It's a true revelation when you realize you can turn simple canned tomatoes into the perfect vodka sauce at home. A silky, rich rigatoni alla vodka recipe is such a luxurious dish that it seems like the kind of thing only a restaurant could get exactly right. Yet the real genius of the recipe, like in so many Italian dishes, is its elegant simplicity. It's really just tomatoes for flavor, cream for richness, and vodka, which helps amp up the flavor, and a few aromatics. And like with any dish this simple the most important part isn't your skill, it's picking out the best quality ingredients because each one is contributing so much to the meal. If you want the richest vodka sauce, pick up tomato puree.

There are quite a few different types of canned tomato products, and what makes them different isn't always clear. What sets tomato puree apart from canned sauce or passata is that it has been lightly cooked already. Puree isn't as cooked down as tomato paste, but it has a thicker texture and sweeter flavor than uncooked alternatives that have only been run through a blender. It's essentially a shortcut to cooking down tomatoes yourself. That texture and flavor will lend vodka sauce an instant richness without little effort at all, turning into a meal you can make in minutes.

Since tomato puree is already partially cooked, you only need to sauté your aromatics to soften them before adding the main ingredient. Make sure you grab one of the better canned tomato brands because some lower-quality options can be overly sweet, bitter, or tinny. The puree will only need five to 10 minutes to cook down a little bit more before you add the cream to finish the dish. And unlike some other canned styles like crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce, puree is already completely smooth, saving you from having to use a blender and avoiding extra cleanup.

While canned tomato puree is great for vodka sauce, if you want to go the extra mile, you can actually make it yourself at home and then freeze it for later. All you need to do is cook fresh chopped tomatoes in a pan for 10-15 minutes until its just started to reduce, then blitz the cooked tomatoes in a blender until smooth. You can freeze homemade tomato puree in an air-tight container and it will last up to six months. That way you can make the best vodka sauce anytime, and you won't even need a trip to the store.