Slow Cooker Revolution Volume 2: The Easy Prep Edition by America’s Test Kitchen

Author:America’s Test Kitchen
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781936493760
Publisher: America’s Test Kitchen
Published: 2013-07-13T07:00:00+00:00

PENNE ALLA VODKA

Penne alla Vodka

* * *

Serves4 to 6

Cooking Time 3 to 4 hours on High

Slow Cooker Size 5½ to 7 Quarts

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Most recipes where raw pasta is tossed into the slow cooker are a huge letdown, resulting in pasta that’s mushy or blown out. We wanted to devise a way to take advantage of this convenient appliance to turn out both a flavorful sauce and tender pasta, for a complete dinner that was light on prep. Numerous tests and many pounds of pasta later, we discovered two keys to tender slow-cooked pasta. First, we “toasted” the raw pasta in the microwave in a bit of olive oil for a few minutes, which guaranteed our pasta didn’t become blown out in the slow cooker. Then, we combined the pasta with boiling water to jump-start the cooking process before adding the sauce. Placing a foil collar on one side of the slow cooker ensured that the pasta cooked through evenly. For a bright and tangy vodka sauce to accompany our pasta, we tried combining a variety of canned tomato products with vodka; a good dose of heavy cream ensured it was plenty rich. But when we stirred in more sauce at the end to liven up the dish, we were disappointed to find that it tasted one-dimensional and had a raw tomato flavor. Jarred marinara sauce, which is cooked, worked much better and offered long-simmered depth and complexity. Click here for more information on cooking pasta in the slow cooker and making a foil collar. See the sidebar that follows the recipe.

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