Mama Szabo's Tomato Vodka Sauce

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 12 fresh Roma tomatoes (or substitute 1 can of 28-ounce crushed tomatoes)
• 3 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• ½ cup vodka
• ¾ cup of heavy cream
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pound Rigitoni pasta
• Finely chopped fresh basil (optional) and parmesan cheese for garnish

Instructions:

1. (Skip the next four steps if you are using canned crushed tomatoes.) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cut each tomato into quarters, spread out in a 9x12 baking dish, and sprinkle with salt and pepper generously. 
3. Bake the tomatoes in the oven for 90 minutes. 
4. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Once cooled completely, place tomatoes in a food processor until almost pureed. (This determines the thickness of your sauce, so keep that in mind when blending.)
5. In a medium skillet, heat oil over moderate heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds.
6. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, vodka and ¾ cup of water.
7. Simmer over moderate heat about 20-25 minutes until sauce has thickened a bit.
8. Stir in heavy cream.  Do not let it boil, but heat through.
9. Serve with cooked Rigitoni and sprinkle with fresh basil and parmesan cheese.

This is a Mama Szabo original, and one of my very favorite dishes!