{{Short description|Pasta dish with vodka, cream, and tomato sauce}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Italics title}} {{Infobox food | name = ''Penne alla vodka'' | image = PenneAllaVodka.jpg | image_size = | caption = ''Penne alla vodka'' with grated cheese | alternate_name = Penne vodka, pasta with vodka sauce, Moscow penne | country = {{plainlist| *Italy *United States }} | region = | creator = Debated | year = 1970s | course = {{plainlist| *''Primo'' (Italy) *Main (United States) }} | type = | mintime = 8 | maxtime = 10 | served = | main_ingredient = Penne, cream, tomatoes, vodka, hot pepper flakes, pancetta | variations = }}
'''''Penne alla vodka''''' ({{IPA|it|ˈpenne alla ˈvɔdka|lang}}) is a pasta dish of penne in a tomato and cream sauce with vodka, and usually hot pepper flakes, garlic, and pancetta. The vodka emulsifies the sauce and enhances flavor. It is usually topped with grated Parmesan or Pecorino romano cheese and black pepper.
The dish became popular in Italy and in the United States around the 1980s, as a late-night dish following evenings at the disco.<ref>{{cite web|author=Cinzia Alfè|title=Riabilitiamo le penne alla vodka dall'ingiusta condizione di discredito|website=Dissapore|date=2017-10-13|url=https://www.dissapore.com/cucina/riabilitiamo-le-penne-alla-vodka/}}</ref> It remains popular in Italian-American cuisine.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Long|first1=Lucy|title=Ethnic American Food Today: A Cultural Encyclopedia|date=17 July 2015|page=321|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=9781442227316|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DBzYCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA321}}</ref>
==Origins== thumb|''Penne alla vodka'' The exact origins of ''penne alla vodka'' are unclear and, to some extent, the subject of urban legend and folklore. The first attested recipe is in 1974, in the cookbook ''L'Abbuffone'' by the Italian actor Ugo Tognazzi; he called it ''pasta all'infuriata'' {{gloss|pasta, enraged style}}, described as a sort of ''pasta all'arrabbiata'', made with penne, fresh peeled tomatoes, a shot of vodka, chili pepper, oil, garlic, and bay leaves. Tognazzi suggested also that, if using a Polish vodka with chili ("formidable, tremendous, very strong, very hot, deadly"), the fresh chili pepper can be omitted.<ref>{{cite book |author=Tognazzi |first=Ugo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=joEOAQAAIAAJ |title=L'Abbuffone |publisher=Rizzoli Editore |year=1974 |isbn=9788817136143 |location=Milan |page=105 |language=it}}</ref>
There have been multiple, often conflicting, claims to the invention and history of the dish; one author claims that it was invented at Dante, a restaurant in Bologna.<ref>''The ultimate pasta cookbook'' by Pasquale Bruno New York : Contemporary Books, 1997. {{ISBN|978-0-8092-3169-0}}.</ref> One cookbook claims that it was invented in the 1980s by a Roman chef for a vodka company that wanted to popularize its product in Italy.<ref>''Essentials of Italian''. Steve Seigelman. Williams Sonoma books, 2008.</ref> The dish may have been common in Italy before becoming popular in America in the early 1980s.<ref>''Food for Friends'' by Barbara Kafka: Harper & Row, 1984.</ref> Luigi Franzese of Orsini's Restaurant in New York City claims to have improvised the dish in the 1970s when using vodka to reduce a tomato sauce, calling it ''Penne à la Russia''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Franzese |first1=Paula A. (Paula Ann) |title=A short & happy guide to being a law student : a daily companion for law school, practice and life |date=2014 |publisher=St. Paul, MN : West Academic Publishing |isbn=978-0-314-29107-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/shorthappyguidet0000fran/page/n9/mode/2up}}</ref> A 1979 Italian novel mentions a "sugo alla russa" which includes a glass of vodka.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Parazzoli |first=Ferruccio |title=Carolina dei miracoli : romanzo |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Carolina_dei_miracoli/5bYIAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22sugo+alla+russa%22&dq=%22sugo+alla+russa%22&printsec=frontcover |access-date=2026-05-27 |website= |language=it|date=1979|location=Milan|pages=37}}</ref>
On October 25, 2016, the Italian Association of Confectionery and Pasta Industries named it the symbolic dish of the 18th World Pasta Day organized in Moscow, as a symbol of friendship between Italy and Russia.<ref>{{cite news|title=Il ritorno delle penne alla Vodka|date=2016-10-25|author=Svetlana Borisova|website=Russia Beyond|url=https://it.rbth.com/cultura/cucina_russa/2016/10/25/il-ritorno-delle-penne-alla-vodka_642013}}</ref> Barilla later found ''penne alla vodka'' was the second most sought-after dish of pasta in search engines, behind only ''pasta alla bolognese''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 25, 2016 |title=Penne alla vodka, 2ª ricetta più “cliccata” negli Usa {{!}} MixerPlanet |url=https://www.mixerplanet.com/mixology/113159/penne-alla-vodka-2%C2%AA-ricetta-piu-cliccata-negli-usa.html |access-date=2025-03-29 |website=www.mixerplanet.com |language=it}}</ref>
==Composition== The ethanol of the vodka enhances and balances the flavors of the tomato and cream.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Does Vodka Sauce Really Need Vodka? |url=https://www.seriouseats.com/ask-the-food-lab-does-vodka-sauce-really-need-vodka |access-date=2024-04-27 |website=Serious Eats |language=en}}</ref> Half or more of the vodka evaporates during cooking.<ref name=":0" />
Similar tomato and cream sauces without vodka are sometimes known as ''parma rosa'' or ''rosatella''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Parma Rosa Sauce Recipe |url=https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/parma-rosa-sauce |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=MyRecipes}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=I Tried the Brand-New Trader Joe's Jarred Pasta Sauce, and It's as "Amazing" as Everyone Says |url=https://www.thekitchn.com/trader-joes-rosatella-pasta-sauce-23626079 |access-date=August 16, 2024 |website=The Kitchn}}</ref>
In the U.S., bacon or guanciale are often substituted for pancetta.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-09 |title=Penne alla Vodka with Bacon |url=https://rachaelray.com/blogs/recipes/penne-alla-vodka-with-bacon |access-date=2026-05-21 |website=Rachael Ray |language=en}}</ref>
==In media== The 2022 short documentary film ''Disco Sauce: The True Story of Penne Alla Vodka'', directed by Roberto Serrini, examines the history, composition and variations of ''penne alla vodka''. It features the chefs Pasquale Cozzolino, Gaetano Arnone, Jae Lee, JJ Johnson, and Jeremy Spector, and the molecular gastronomist Hervé This. Its director called it "insatiably irreverent" and a reviewer characterized it as "gonzo style".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Disco Sauce: The Unbelievable True Story of Penne Alla Vodka |url=https://italyinbocca.com/discosauce |website=Italia in Bocca}}, official film site</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Disco Sauce: The True Story of Penne alla Vodka |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23829438/reference/ |website=IMDb}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Disco Sauce: The True Story of Penne alla Vodka ''and'' Italy in Bocca |url=https://calandrainstitute.org/events/disco-sauce-the-true-story-of-penne-alla-vodka-and-italy-in-bocca/ |access-date=2026-05-27 |website=John D. Calandra Italian American Institute |language=en-US}}</ref> It has received multiple awards.<ref name="taste">{{Cite web |date=2026-02-19 |title=14th Annual TASTE Awards Nominees, Finalists and Honorees |url=https://www.thetasteawards.com/14th-annual-taste-awards-nominees-finalists-and-honorees/ |access-date=2026-03-08 |website=The TASTE AWARDS |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Disco Sauce: The Untold True Story of America’s Favorite Pasta. |url=https://enter.amcpros.com/marcom/entry/disco-sauce-the-untold-true-story-of-americas-favorite-pasta/ |access-date=2026-05-27 |website=MarCom Awards |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Disco Sauce: The Untold True Story of America’s Favorite Pasta. |url=https://enter.amcpros.com/viddy/entry/disco-sauce-the-untold-true-story-of-americas-favorite-pasta/ |access-date=2026-05-27 |website=Viddy Awards |language=en-US}}</ref>
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==References== <references/>
{{Pasta dishes}}
Category:Italian-American cuisine Category:Pasta dishes Category:Foods with alcoholic beverages Category:Vodkas