Meatball Monday: Red Lentil Pasta in a Chunky Vodka Sauce

I wanted to post a recipe this week that could easily be made at home with Valentine’s Day coming up. My husband and I have celebrated many Valentine’s Days at home and love spending a little more time on dinner than we normally would.

I recently had dinner at Juliet Italian in Austin and had the most delicious pasta with vodka sauce. It was so rich and creamy with a little spice. It made me realize I’ve never made that sauce, so I wanted to try it with meatballs. My husband doesn’t eat a lot of pasta, so I found red lentil penne at the store to use instead and the color is very on theme for this Valentine’s meal.

Meatballs:

1 lb ground beef

1 lb ground pork

1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs

2 cloves chopped garlic

2 eggs

salt & pepper

splash of water

Vodka Sauce:

2 cans whole tomatoes

1/2 cup heavy cream

2-3 Tbl vodka

2 cloves chopped garlic

1/3 cup parmesan

red pepper flakes for spice

chopped basil & additional parmesan on top

To make the meatballs, combine all ingredients and roll into 1-2 in balls. Line on a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, rotating half way through. For the sauce, heat pot and add olive oil, then chopped garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook tomatoes for about 15 minutes until they’re soft and a chunky consistency. Add vodka and cook a couple more minutes. Add cream then parmesan. Meanwhile, cook lentil pasta according to directions. Pour sauce over pasta and meatballs with additional parmesan and basil on top. Enjoy!