Carbone Spicy Rigatoni Copycat

It’s no secret that Carbone in Las Vegas is one of our favorite restaurants, ever. The minute I tried their spicy rigatoni vodka sauce, I knew it was one to try to recreate. After a few rounds of trial and error, I think I’ve finally perfected this copycat recipe. It is, hands down, one of my favorite sauces I’ve ever made. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Ingredients

• 1 box of pasta
• 2 medium onions, sliced (I used 3 onions because 2 were teeny tiny!)
• 5 tablespoons of butter
• 7-8 cloves of garlic, minced
• 8 oz of tomato paste
• 1 – 1.5 cups of heavy cream
• 1/2 – 1 teaspoon of Calabrian chili oil (depending on how spicy you like it!)
• 1 shot glass of vodka (yes, this is how I measure the vodka sauce LOL)
• Parmesan cheese, to taste (I usually use a cup start to finish)
• Pasta water
• Salt to taste
• EVOO

Melt 3 tablespoons of butter over low heat. Add 2 sliced onions and 1/2 cup of water and let the onions cook down on low for about 45 minutes to an hour. The longer you can cook them, the better!

When your onions are finishing up, sauté garlic in olive oil over medium low heat. Add Calabrian chili’s and mix until fragrant or about 30 seconds to 1 min. Add the tomato paste and turn heat to medium. After 3-4 minutes, add vodka and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Add onion mixture to pan and mix.

While your pasta cooks, add heavy cream and whisk together – add 1/2 cup of heavy cream at a time vs adding all at once. Add salt and 2 tablespoons of butter and let simmer on low while pasta cooks.

When your pasta is al dente, add directly to the pan and allow it to finish cooking in the sauce with some pasta water. Make sure to save pasta water to add to the pan if the sauce gets too thick and season with salt. Top with parmesan cheese and serve. I hope you enjoy as much as I do!