My favorite pasta sauce.

It has been a while since I shared a new recipe on here. Honestly I haven't been in the mood to cook that much. I find it hard to get new ideas. I make a lot of roasted vegetables, like cauliflower or Brussel sprouts, which we all love. My other go to is pasta. I love this recipe because it has so much more flavor than regular tomato sauce.

Source: 6bittersweets.com

1/2 pound dry thin spaghetti pasta OR any other pasta
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion OR 2 to 3 shallots
Scant 3/4 tsp salt, divided 1/8 to 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper OR 1 dried red chili, minced
Fresh black pepper to taste
1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup vodka
1 (14.5-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1carrot and 2 zucchinis roughly julienned
1/4 cup whipping cream
3 Tbsp thinly sliced fresh basil
Shaved or grated parmesan cheese, to garnish
Additional fresh basil leaves (optional)

Boil a large pot of salted water. Brown onions slowly, over medium heat. Add the salt, pepper, chilis and garlic when they are nearly done. Add the vodka and bring to a boil. Add the tomatoes and let simmer for fifteen minutes. Turn down heat, stir in cream, basil and vegetables. Let cook for two minutes before adding in cooked pasta. Garnish with fresh parmesan and basil.

**I love this recipe and make it all the time now. I changed the original to make the sauce a little thicker in tomatoes, remove the step of pureeing the sauce and added more vegetables.  I just julienne them to mimic the noodles but do it by hand so they don't get too skinny. I add the vegetables just a minute before adding the pasta so that they don't get soggy. When I am feeling particularly adventurous I only boil the pasta half way and cook it in the sauce itself. I have made this many times without the alcohol. It is still good but lacks a certain depth. I have also used vermouth in place of vodka and love that too.**