If you couldn’t already tell, I love making vodka pasta. But there just aren’t enough vodka pasta recipes out there. Sad right? Hopefully you agree because if I have my way there will be a million of them on this website. Once you’ve made my classic vodka sauce, this is a fun twist with the addition of bell peppers. And oh boy is this a good one! One of our favorites for sure. The addition of the peppers gives a very subtle sweetness to the sauce, plus the spice from the red peppers. Delicious! And perfect all year long.

Ingredients 

• 1 pound of rigatoni (or any short pasta shape of choice)
• Two tablespoons of olive oil
• Two tablespoons of butter
• 1 large or two small shallots, minced
• 3 or 4 garlic cloves, minced into a paste or grated 
• Lots of red pepper flakes
• 2 red bell peppers, diced (discarding the seeds, pith, and stem) 
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced (discarding the seeds, pith, and stem) 
• 1 tube of tomato paste 
• 1/2 cup of vodka
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter, cold from the fridge 
• Fresh basil
• Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• Freshly grated pecorino cheese
• Kosher salt 
• Freshly ground black pepper 
• Calabrian chili paste (optional)

Directions  

1. Cook your pasta in salted water until al dente. Make sure you reserve a good amount of pasta cooking water before you drain. 
2. Meanwhile, get started on the sauce. Heat the two tablespoons of butter and two tablespoons of Olive oil in a large skillet and then add the shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook for a few minutes until the shallots are softened and the garlic is fragrant. I add a pinch or two of salt at this point. 
3. Add the red and yellow peppers and a big pinch of salt and cook for around 5 to 7 minutes until the veggies start to soften.
4. Add all the tomato paste and cook, stirring continuously, until the tomato paste is darker in color, about 4 minutes. You want to cook out the raw tomato taste so give it time. I also add another pinch of salt. 
5. Add the vodka and cook until the vodka disappears and then for another minute or two after that. Now we’ll blend the sauce. I used an immersion blender and added about a 1/4 cup of pasta water to puree the sauce. You can use a blender or food processor, but you’ll want to allow the mixture to cool slightly.
6. Once the sauce is blended, add it back to the skillet along with about a 1/2 cup of pasta water and stir it together. I like to taste the sauce at this point to add more salt and some freshly ground black pepper.
7. Add the pasta to the sauce and more pasta water, and toss to coat. You can start with a splash or two of pasta water and keep adding as needed. Add the 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of butter and cook everything together for a few minutes, until the noodles are done. 
8. Off the heat stir in the basil, parmesan, and pecorino. I also like to stir in Calabrian chili paste at this point. Taste and adjust seasonings. I also usually add more red pepper flakes!