Healthy, Fresh Vodka Sauce Recipe

I have always been a fan of Penne a la Vodka, mostly for the sauce, but had never really attempted to make this dish for myself.

Time to broaden my horizons. I searched for a basic recipe and found one on Cooks.com.
My healthier, fresh-ingredient interpretation of the recipe is this:


1. In a sauce pan, turn heat to medium-high and combine the following:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of butter
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup minced onions (I say red, white, shallots are all acceptable depending on what you have and prefer, I used red)

2. Saute until the onions are clear. Then add:

• 1/3 cup vodka (Skyy worked well yet is probably the minimum quality vodka you'd want to use)
• 3 peeled Roma tomatoes, minced. (Substitute for recipe's 1 can peeled tomatoes)
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely minced

3. Keep the heat at medium-high and slowly add:

• 1/2 cup half and half (substitute for recipe's pint of heavy cream)
• Salt and pepper to taste

4. Cook until the sauce reduces a bit. Add pre-cooked ingredients to be combined with vodka sauce. Suggestions:

• pasta or quinoa
• broccoli, zucchini, asparagus
• chicken, shrimp
• parmesan, etc.

I made this with broccoli and quinoa, sprinkled with parmesan and thought it was fabulous. 

Take note that while this is healthier than the traditional vodka sauce, it will turn out less creamy than your favorite local Italian restaurant's hearty Penne a la Vodka because of using half and half as opposed to heavy cream. That's your prerogative.

I also thought upon finishing about blending the ingredients/final result in a food processor to make the sauce smoother, although I thought the minced ingredients made for a pretty presentation as well.