Sorella Italian Rigatoni alla Vodka

Rigatoni alla Vodka is a dish that became popular for its simplicity and balance, combining tomato, cream, and acidity into something familiar and comforting. At Sorella, our version focuses on texture, restraint, and technique rather than excess.

The video shows the full process of this dish being prepared in our kitchen, with chef and owner Justin Wills walking through each step from sauce to final plating.

Process

Prepared in-house by our chef, Culinary Institute of America alumnus Chef Justin Wills

Rigatoni alla Vodka at Sorella is prepared in-house by chef and owner Justin Wills, starting with the pasta itself. Rigatoni is a tube-shaped pasta with ridges, and those ridges are there for a reason. As Justin explains, they are designed to hold sauce.

There are similar pastas, such as mostaccioli, that are close in size but lack surface texture. “We like pastas with texture here at Sorella,” Justin notes, which is why rigatoni is used for this dish. The ridges allow the sauce to cling, creating a more complete bite.

The vodka sauce is intentionally simple. It begins with onions and garlic, which are sautéed and seasoned with salt and black pepper. Vodka is then added to deglaze the pan and ignited to cook off most of the alcohol. This step keeps the flavor clean while allowing the vodka to contribute to the structure of the sauce.

San Marzano tomatoes are added next and allowed to simmer for about two hours. This slow simmer develops depth without rushing the process. Once reduced, the sauce is puréed, finished with heavy cream, and reduced again by half to achieve the right consistency.

After reducing, the sauce is seasoned once more. Justin explains that a small amount of lemon juice is added along with salt and pepper. “Not too much lemon juice to where it’s overpowering,” he says, “but just enough to increase the acidity and heighten the flavors.”

To order, the rigatoni is cooked in heavily salted water until it reaches the proper texture. The pasta is then tossed directly in the vodka sauce before plating, allowing the sauce to coat the pasta evenly. The dish is finished with freshly ground pepper and Pecorino Romano cheese.

Prego!

A Familiar Dish, Done with Intention

This approach produces a vodka sauce that feels balanced rather than heavy. The ridged pasta holds the sauce, the acidity keeps it lively, and the cream rounds everything out. It is a familiar classic, prepared with care and consistency.

If you enjoyed this behind-the-scenes look, explore more features highlighting our process:

Sorella Italian Pasta
Tagliatelle alle Vongole
Casarecce alla Bolognese
Ginger Plum Sour
Italian Old Fashioned

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