Step 1

Puree the tomatoes in a blender, food mill, or an immersion blender and set aside. You can decide how chunky or uniform you’d like the tomatoes to be.

Step 2

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the thinly sliced garlic and the basil. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant and softened.

Step 3

Turn off the heat.

Step 4

Add the vodka to the pan and let it sizzle. Turn the heat back to medium and reduce the vodka until there is about a Tablespoon left.

Step 5

Add the pureed tomatoes and let it simmer for 45 minutes or so, allowing it to reduce and becomes quite thick, not exactly paste-like, but almost. We're going to thin it out with the cream.

Step 6

During the last 12 minutes or so, cook the penne according to package instructions. For saucier pasta, use ¾ lb. instead of the full pound. Reserve 1/4 cup pasta water.

Step 7

Add the heavy cream and the red pepper flakes to the sauce.

Step 8

Add 2 Tablespoons cold butter to the sauce, along with 1/4 cup pasta water. Stir to combine.

Step 9

Season with salt/pepper if desired.

Step 10

Add in the drained pasta.

Step 11

Garnish with roughly chopped parsley and Parmesan cheese and serve!