There is a reason the Carbone rigatoni is so famous. It’s creamy, spicy, and one of the best bowls of pasta to dig a fork into. The only problem is you have to find yourself in New York with a reservation in order to snag a bowl. We are too addicted to this pasta to wait until we are in New York, so we are sharing our version of the recipe.
Not only is this pasta delicious, it comes together with a few ingredients and a few minutes. The sauce is a tomato paste based sauce with cream and calabrian chilis to add creaminess and spice. The last secret ingredient is vodka to deglaze the pan the tomato paste is browned in. If you don’t drink alcohol this can be left off.
Although we are grateful to enjoy this pasta year round in our kitchen, one of our favorite parts of the Carbone experience is the rainbow cookies served at the end. Rainbow cookies are one of our absolute favorites and the ones at Carbone are some of the best we have ever had. In case you are also a rainbow cookie lover we have a recipe for them here to complete the experience.
Carbone Rigatoni ingredient notes:
- Pasta: Carbone uses a slightly rounded rigatoni for this pasta. We used a smaller version called lumachini in this recipe but any pasta will work as long a it has a large opening in the center.
- Vodka: if the you prefer to not use vodka in your cooking, this can be left off
- Parmesan: Use real parmesan (not pre-grated) for the best flavor in the sauce
Keys to the perfect pasta:
- Pasta: Make sure the pasta is very al dente as it will finish cooking in the sauce
- Parmesan: Use freshly grated parmesan instead of pre-grated parmesan has a coating to keep it fresh
- Pasta Water: Pasta water thickens the sauce due to the starch in the water from boiling the pasta. It is a key ingredient in most all of our pasta dishes
- Spice: We like it a little spicy but add more or less to taste of the chopped calabrian chilis. We recommend adding at least a little bit for flavor even if you aren’t a spicy lover
Carbone Rigatoni
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta lumachini or rigatoni
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons chopped calabrian chilis
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 1/2 cup vodka
- 1/2 cup pasta water
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Before draining, reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water
- Place a large pot on medium heat (large enough to hold the sauce and pasta.) Add onions and cook 3-5 minutes. Add in the garlic, calabrian chilis, salt, pepper, oregano and continue to cook for 2 more minutes
- After 2 minutes, add the tomato paste. Cook for 3 more minutes and stir constantly. After 3 minutes, de glaze the pan by adding in the vodka. Let the vodka cook out for 1 minute. After stir in the heavy cream and mix then add in the pasta water and cook for 2 more minutes
- Right before serving, mix in the butter, parmesan and then stir in the pasta
