Chicken Vodka Penne

Written By Jacob Robinson

So while I was working the other day, my wife called me and informed me that we had a pound of ground chicken, a bunch of lemons we needed to use and a can of San Marzano tomatoes. She followed that up with “What can you make?”.

After thinking for a second, I told her I would make a lemon-infused chicken penne pasta with a homemade vodka sauce.

So, when I got off work, I stopped by the store and grabbed a couple of extra things to make my vision a reality.

First things first, I had to get the sauce going since it takes the longest and I like cooking in stages.

Vodka Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1 (28 oz) can of San Marzano tomatoes

  • 1 tbsp olive oil

  • 1 small red onion (diced)

  • 1 medium carrot (peeled and grated)

  • 3 cloves garlic (minced)

  • 2 tbsp tomato paste

  • ½ tsp garlic powder

  • ½ tsp onion powder

  • ½ tsp dried parsley

  • ¼ cup vodka

  • 1/3 cup heavy cream

  • 2 tbsp butter

  • Salt (to taste)

  • Pinch red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions:

  • Heat olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat.

  • Add carrot, diced onion, and a pinch of salt. Cook until onions soften.

  • Add minced garlic and cook until fragrant (30-60 seconds).

  • Stir in tomato paste, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, and red pepper flakes (if using). Cook for 1-2 minute to deepen flavor and remove tanginess from paste.

  • Pour in vodka and let it reduce by about half.

  • Add tomatoes and another pinch of salt and let simmer until the tomatoes begin to break down (20-30 minutes).

  • Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth.

  • Stir in heavy cream and another pinch of salt.

  • Stir in butter to make sauce glossy, and you’re ready to serve.

Ok, now that the sauce has been sauced, it’s time to finish this thing.

We will start by bringing 4 cups of chicken broth and 2 cups of water to a boil. Yes, this is for your penne. I used a whole box for this meal.

Cooking the pasta in broth instead of water builds flavor from the inside out. It’s a small step, but it makes a noticeable difference in the final dish.

While your penne is cooking to al dente, brown your ground chicken in another skillet and season with salt and pepper.

Once your chicken is browned, squeeze the juice of one lemon over top of it and mix around in the skillet. I have found that if you cook it briefly, it will get rid of some of the acid forward flavor, but still keep that lemon flavor on the finish.

Bring it all together now by adding your penne directly into the sauce and folding in the lemon-infused ground chicken.

If needed, add a splash of that broth you cooked the pasta in to loosen everything up and help the sauce cling to the noodles.

Plate it up and finish with freshly grated parmesan and torn basil.

Simple ingredients, layered the right way.

This is what cooking looks like when you stop overthinking and just build with what you have.

Enjoy.

Jacob Robinson