If, like me, your TikTok and Instagram are full of foodies making delicious meals then you've probably seen the viral pasta trend with an alcoholic twist, sparked by model Gigi Hadid's spicy vodka pasta.
The dish is made of three main elements; pasta, tomato, and of course vodka, but for those who want to skip cooking almost entirely food brand Heinz has collaborated with vodka company Absolut to produce a ready made jar.
As a fan of alcohol and carbs, the Heinz x Absolut Tomato Vodka Pasta Sauce was calling my name - especially if I could make the viral dish with minimal effort.
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Gigi's recipe has been floating around since 2020 when the 27-year-old admitted she liked her pasta with an alcoholic kick, since then over 12 billion of us have watched "Gigi Hadid pasta recipe" TikTok's recreating the dish with various twists and additions.
Despite what social media may have you believe, the supermodel didn't invent vodka pasta - instead Penne alla Vodka appeared in an Italian actor's cookbook in the early 1970s, before this the origins are unknown.
Personally, I've never had Penne alla Vodka so as a lover of simple dishes that taste delicious, I was keen to try this hyped up iteration with the seal of approval from so many.
The popularity of the dish is undoubtedly helped by the simplicity of the recipe which can be reduced down to five items; pasta, onions, garlic, tomato paste, cream and the star of the show - vodka. Of course you can add twists and any spices or seasoning you choose, Heinz has included cayenne pepper in their version.
Since I used the Heinz jar there was almost no cooking involved other than popping my conchiglie on to boil - giving me plenty of time to scroll social media for my next foodie obsession.
If you're wanting to try the Heinz x Vodka collab - a limited number of the jars will be available at Waitrose from mid-April for £2.50 for a 350g jar.
I drained the pasta, added the jar and topped with chili flakes and basil which TikTok told me was a must when making this dish - excited I sat down to dive into this Pasta alla Gigi Hadid.
In the most anti-climactic taste test result - it tastes like nice tomato sauce.
That's not a bad thing at all, as far as jars of creamy tomato sauce go this is one of the nicest I've had but as for vodka, I'm not convinced.
There was no kick or hint of alcohol flavour in this as far as I could taste, although I will admit the familiar punch of a vodka shot in my pasta probably wouldn't have been a welcome addition. I just expected more, something to let me know there was something different about this dish.
When making a red wine ragu you can taste the notes of the wine left behind, seeped into the flavours but with this the vodka evaporated completely despite 10 per cent of the sauce being made of Absolut.
If you were making the meal from scratch you could tailor this vodka level to get the exact kick you want but this is understandably missing when using a jar.
That being said, using the Heinz x Absolut sauce was definitely easier than cooking, even if it is a simple recipe.
Despite the slight lack of vodka flavour, I would absolutely make this dish again for a quick, easy meal as it was undeniably delicious. The chili flakes adding a little spice were complemented nicely by the creaminess of the sauce.
Perhaps next time I would add in some more vegetables or a protein to build it into a more balanced meal but the dish is a great starting point for doing that.
As for the Heinz x Absolut Tomato Vodka Pasta Sauce, I still have half a jar waiting for me in the fridge so I will be trying it again and maybe I'll even make myself an Absolut cocktail to match.
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