Big Drinks, Little Drinks 11

We covered cooking with spirits in another article of Archie’s Journal this month and are now delighted to present Dirty Martini Pasta Sauce created by Elizabeth (Lizzie for short) Hewson, featuring Archie Rose Native Botanical Vodka. Anything but ordinary, this is a sauce that is being created for the modern-day food lover to compliment even the most simple of pasta recipes.

Made with love by Lucia’s, the family-run, Italian pasta sauce specialists in Adelaide, South Australia, this sauce is being slow cooked in small pots and then hand bottled to ensure the highest quality. And if your mouth isn’t watering yet, this Dirty Martini Vodka sauce is jam-packed with Australian talent - summer ripe, Australian roma tomatoes, Archie Rose Native Botanical Vodka and Toolunka Estate naturally fermented olive brine.

In light of this upcoming release, we thought it would be worth sitting down with Lizzie to learn more about connecting through cooking, how her love of home cooking made way for the passion project that became Saturday Night Pasta and all about the sauce she has lovingly made for Australians everywhere to add to their next meal, coming soon to the Archie Rose website.

Was this when your love affair with pasta began then?

I have always loved food, and have written two books ‘Moving Out Eating In’ for home leavers and more recently ‘Saturday Night Pasta’, both of which are expressions of my love of storytelling through food and recipe writing.

There was a time when I also lived in Italy for a year and studied for my Masters and Communication at the University of Gastronomic Science in a small town called Piedmont in Northern Italy (also known as the birthplace of the slow food movement), where I really immersed myself in Italian life. I think I have always hoped there was some part of me that was Italian because the way that they talk and connect and really value food was something I really resonated with. Italy is where my love affair for pasta began.

Saturday Night Pasta exploded during lockdowns! Did that come as a surprise to you?

I had been doing my Saturday Night Pasta ritual for three to four years and had written my book before COVID, but during the many lockdowns that Australians went through, people were really looking for something to immerse themselves in, more open to trying new things and had more time to do things for themselves. It was wonderful to see how Saturday Night Pasta was helping people connect as they gave hand making their own pasta a go.

Why use vodka as an ingredient in pasta sauce?

One of my favourite pasta sauces is Penne Alla Vodka, it’s packed full of flavour and I love it because it is luxurious and has this beautiful silky finish. Vodka acts as an emulsifier, basically, the booze helps to bond the water and the fat together (even though you cook out the alcohol) which is why you end up with such a delicious finish in the sauce. This is why I am particularly excited to partner with Archie Rose and use Native Botanical Vodka in a vodka pasta sauce of my own, it has such strong botanical aromas that shine through!

One of my favourite pasta sauces is Penne Alla Vodka, it’s packed full of flavour and I love it because it is luxurious and has this beautiful silky finish. Vodka acts as an emulsifier, basically, the booze helps to bond the water and the fat together (even though you cook out the alcohol) which is why you end up with such a delicious finish in the sauce. This is why I am particularly excited to partner with Archie Rose and use Native Botanical Vodka in a vodka pasta sauce of my own, it has such strong botanical aromas that shine through!

Why use vodka as an ingredient in pasta sauce?

One of my favourite pasta sauces is Penne Alla Vodka, it’s packed full of flavour and I love it because it is luxurious and has this beautiful silky finish. Vodka acts as an emulsifier, basically, the booze helps to bond the water and the fat together (even though you cook out