Copycat Carbone Spicy Rigatoni

I based my variations on Copycat Carbone Spicy Rigatoni by Delish. So the recipe below is a a little healthied-up copycat of a copycat. This recipe yields two servings based on the 4 servings from the original recipe. #spicyrigatoni

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. Vegan Butter  

2 1/2 Cups or one package Trader Joe’s chopped white onions

2 cloves garlic, minced or 2 Dorot garlic cubes

2 Tbsp. crushed Calabrian chiles in oil, to taste. To make it milder, use less chiles.

1 (6-oz.) can organic tomato paste

1 (7-oz.) can whole tomatoes

1/4 c. vodka. To substitute for the vodka, use ¼ of water with a splash of apple cider vinegar and lime.

3-4 cups of creamy goat cheese in place of 1 cup of heavy cream, use less goat cheese if need be.

Natural sea salt

2 cups of Trader Joe’s gluten free brown rice penne or gluten-free rigatoni

Grated freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano

Water

Directions:

1.     In a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, melt vegan butter. Add onions and cook on low, stirring often, until golden brown and caramelized, 18 to 20 minutes. Add garlic and chiles and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

2.     Add tomato paste to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly and darkened in color, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in tomatoes along with their liquid and the vodka, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Bring to a simmer. Add water as necessary to incorporate the tomato paste.

3.     Cook, breaking up tomatoes with a fork, until sauce has thickened and tomatoes have broken down, about 10 minutes. Add water if necessary.  Remove from heat and cool down the mixture.  Stir in goat cheese until creamy.

4.     Pour sauce into a traditional blender or use an immersion blender and blend until smooth. Return sauce to pot.

5.     Add 2 tablespoons salt to a large pot of boiling water and add pasta. Cook until al dente according to package directions. Reserve at least 1½ cups pasta water before draining. 

6.     Return sauce to a simmer over medium-low heat. Add ½ cup pasta water from the drained pasta and Parmesan and stir until incorporated. (For a smoother sauce, add pasta water ¼ cup at a time until you reach your desired consistency.) Season to taste with salt.

7.     Serve the sauce with the pasta in a bowl immediately with a light dusting of Parmesan.