Vodka Gochujang Pasta

Recipe from Dinner by Meera Sodha

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1¾ cups passata or finely chopped canned tomatoes
• 1 tbsp gochujang paste
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 6 tbsp vodka
• ¾ oat-based creamer
• 14 oz rigatoni
• black pepper, to serve

Instructions

1. Put the oil into a large frying pan on a medium to high heat, add the onion and salt, and cook, stirring, for 8 minutes, until the onion is soft enough to cut easily with a wooden spoon.
2. Add the garlic, fry for 2 minutes, then add the passata, gochujang, tomato paste and half the vodka, and leave it all to bubble away for 10 minutes, until the mix is quite paste-like. Stir in the cream and the rest of the vodka, simmer for a couple of minutes, then take off the heat.
3. Cook the rigatoni for a minute less than the package instructions. Carefully scoop a mug (around 1 cup) of the cooking water out of the pasta pan, put this to one side, then drain the pasta.
4. Pop the sauce back on the heat, stir in the pasta and all the reserved pasta cooking water, then let it bubble away for a couple of minutes, until the sauce is nice and thick and clinging to the pasta. Spoon into bowls and add a little salt and pepper if you wish.