Vodka Rigatoni with Prosciutto: Pink Sauce, Crispy Prosciutto, Clean Plates

Fill a large pot with water, add the kosher salt, and bring it to a boil over high heat. While the water heats, set a large deep skillet or Dutch oven next to the stove and line up your ingredients. This sauce moves fast once the garlic hits the pan, so you don't want to chop an onion with one hand and stir with the other.

Cook the prosciutto first. Pour the olive oil into the skillet and set it over medium heat. Add the prosciutto pieces in one layer and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, turning once or twice, until the edges curl and crisp and the fat turns golden. Lift the prosciutto out with a slotted spoon and set it on a paper towel lined plate. Leave the fat in the pan.

Add the diced onion to the same pan and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until it's soft and translucent at the edges. Add the garlic and the red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds, stirring the whole time, until the garlic smells strong. Don't let the garlic brown. Brown garlic turns bitter and it'll sit on top of the whole sauce.

Stir in the tomato paste and cook it for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often and scraping the bottom of the pan, until it darkens from bright red to a deep brick red. This step cooks the raw taste out of the paste and builds the base of the sauce, so don't rush it.

Pour in the vodka and scrape up every browned bit stuck to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, until the sharp alcohol smell fades and the liquid has reduced by about half. If you can still smell raw vodka, give it another minute.

Add the crushed tomatoes, the black pepper, and a pinch of salt. Stir well and bring the sauce to a gentle simmer. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring once or twice, until it thickens a bit and the raw tomato taste cooks out. Turn the heat down if it starts to spit all over your stove.

While the sauce simmers, cook the rigatoni in the boiling water until it's 1 minute shy of the time on the box. Before you drain it, scoop out 1 1/2 cups of the pasta water and set it aside. That starchy water is how you fix a sauce that's too thick, and you'll want it in the next step.

Pour the heavy cream into the tomato sauce and stir until the sauce turns pink orange and looks smooth. Simmer for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the drained rigatoni straight to the skillet with 3/4 cup of the saved pasta water and toss hard with tongs for 1 to 2 minutes, until every tube is coated and glossy. Add more pasta water a splash at a time if the sauce looks tight. It should cling to the pasta, not pool at the bottom of the pan.

Pull the pan off the heat. Add the butter and the grated Parmesan and toss again until both melt into the sauce. Stir in the torn basil. Taste a piece of pasta with sauce on it. Add salt if it tastes flat, more red pepper flakes if you want more heat, and a small splash of pasta water if it needs to loosen up. Serve right away in warm bowls, topped with the crispy prosciutto, extra Parmesan, and extra basil.