It’s telling that so many recipes for this “slightly kitsch” 1980s favourite, to quote the late and already much-missed restaurateur Russell Norman, begin with a sentence or two of self-justification. Norman, a proud fan who put penne alla vodka on the menu at his last restaurant, Brutto, notes that, “despite the potentially gimmicky nature” of the pairing, “it works exceptionally well”, while Nigella Lawson calls it “amusingly retro” but “seriously good”.
