You can still find ways to enjoy the flavors of your favorite cocktails during Dry January — you just have to get a little creative.
That’s why I decided to try Gordon Ramsay‘s Bloody Mary linguine, a pasta dish inspired by the most famous brunch drink (don’t tell the mimosa).
“Bloody Mary is one of my favorite drinks, so I thought why not incorporate the same flavors on the plate?” Ramsay writes in his “Ultimate Home Cooking” cookbook. “This makes an unusual starter or main and just shows how even the most familiar dishes — in this case pasta and tomato sauce — can be updated.”
Would the pasta live up to its inspiration? Let’s find out!
Gordon Ramsay’s Bloody Mary linguine features the cocktail’s traditional ingredients.
To make the recipe, which serves four, you’ll need:
- 1 red onion, peeled and diced
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
- 1 400-gram (about 14-ounce) tin of “best-quality chopped tomatoes”
- 400 grams of dried linguine
- 50 milliliters of vodka
- 1-2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon of Tabasco sauce
- 1 teaspoon of finely granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon of celery salt
You’ll also need these ingredients to make the topping:
- A large handful of white breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon of finely chopped parsley
- Olive oil, for frying
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
A note on the chopped tomatoes: Ramsay’s cookbook was published in the UK and features British measurements and cooking terms. American supermarkets don’t typically sell “chopped tomatoes,” but a quick Google search revealed our equivalent is “diced tomatoes,” so that’s what I went with.
Also, full transparency, I wasn’t able to find celery salt at my local supermarket, so I skipped it for this recipe.
I loved that Ramsay’s recipe required barely any prep.
All I had to do was dice my onion, chop some parsley, and crush the garlic, which was ready in a flash.
Before I got started on the sauce, I needed to toast my breadcrumbs.
I placed a frying pan over medium heat and added some olive oil. Once the oil was hot, I threw in a small mountain of breadcrumbs, seasoning them with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Ramsay said you’ll know the breadcrumbs are ready when they turn golden.
“We’re goin’ up, up, up,” I hummed to myself as I waited for my breadcrumbs to turn the KPop Demon Hunter-approved hue.
Once the crumbs were ready, I added the chopped parsley and stirred everything together. Then, I transferred the breadcrumbs to a bowl and set them aside.
It was time to make the sauce!
I added olive oil to a fresh pan over medium heat, then threw in the diced red onion once the oil was hot. I seasoned it with a pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper.
Ramsay recommends sautéeing the onion until it has softened and turned a “light golden” color.
Once the onion was ready, I added the garlic and kept sautéeing for another two minutes. Then, I added the Tabasco and Worcestershire sauces, as well as the sprinkling of sugar. If you’re able to find celery salt, you would also throw it in during this step!
Then, I poured in the vodka to deglaze the pan.
“The alcohol all evaporates, but it adds a richness to the sauce,” Ramsay writes in the recipe’s description.
I added the tomatoes, turning the heat down to bring my sauce to a simmer.
Ramsay said you should cook the sauce gently for 10 to 15 minutes, until it has “reduced a little.” He also recommended adding a little water if the sauce thickens too much while simmering.
While the sauce was simmering, I cooked my pasta.
You should cook the linguine until it’s al dente, making sure to follow the cooking instructions on the box.
Before draining the linguine, I added some of the pasta water to my sauce.
Ramsay said you should always save some pasta water and stir it into your sauce to “make it silky smooth.”
After draining the noodles, I threw the linguine into the pan and mixed it with the sauce.
The pasta definitely didn’t look as exciting as Ramsay’s 15-minute Bolognese, which has become one of my family’s favorite recipes. Still, I reminded myself that the “MasterChef” star’s cacio e pepe hadn’t looked like much in the pan either, and it was still a hit.
Maybe the Bloody Mary linguine would have a similar fate?
I topped the Bloody Mary pasta with my freshly toasted breadcrumbs and dug in.
I have to admit, Ramsay’s Bloody Mary pasta did taste as plain as it looked. The sauce didn’t have much depth, though I got a bit of a kick from the Tabasco, and overall, it just seemed like an average tomato-sauce pasta.
I do wonder if the can of diced tomatoes was the right substitute for this dish. I think opting for whole San Marzano tomatoes and just crushing or chopping them by hand would have added far more flavor, especially if added alongside some tomato paste. I also wish I hadn’t skipped the celery salt, which might have added a bit more complexity to the sauce.
Looks like I’ll have to wait until February to get my Bloody Mary fill. In the meantime, you can’t go wrong with Ramsay’s incredible 10-minute pasta.
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