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In a 1974 cookbook, the Italian actor Ugo Tognazzi published a recipe for pasta all’infuriata, furious pasta, a chile-and-vodka-spiked tomato number. It’s one of the first written accounts of the Russian liquor in pasta and may be related to the penne alla vodka that has been a staple of many Italian American menus. For good reason: The alcohol is said to help fat disperse more evenly, keeping the sauce glossy and creamy, and to enhance the sharp heat and deep savory flavors of the dish. The ricotta serving suggestion draws inspiration from the creamy tomato soup with three dollops of cool, sweet ricotta on top from the now-closed Caffe Falai in Manhattan’s NoLIta neighborhood. The ricotta lends coolness both in temperature and in flavor, lending relief between bites of spicy booziness.

• Kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 slices thick-cut bacon (6 ounces), coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons red-pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 large garlic cloves, crushed but left whole
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 5 tablespoons tomato paste, preferably double-concentrated
• 3/4 to 1 cup vodka, depending on how boozy you want it
• 1 pound fusilli, penne or rigatoni
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 ounces Pecorino Romano or Parmesan, finely grated (1 cup)
• 1 cup/8 ounces whole-milk ricotta
• Finely chopped flat-leaf parsley or basil, for serving

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