Wednesday 8 April 2015

Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce

 

TPW_3646

I have a bit of a problem. It’s an addiction to light orange-red pasta sauces.

There’s this one:

REE_2968_6020

Pasta alla Vodka. Proceed with caution. It’s addictive.

And there’s this one:

REE_1669

Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce. Ridiculously yummy.

And of course, there’s this one from my cookbook:

pasta betsy 141

Penne alla Betsy.

A triumph.

Continuing that tradition, today I bring you this most basic recipe for pasta with tomato cream sauce.

Make it if you’re feeling blue.

Or are hungry for pasta.

It definitely does the trick.
TPW_3562

An onion!
TPW_3563

Cut it in half from root to tip, then lop off the tops.

TPW_3564

Peel off the paper, then make vertical slices.

TPW_3565

Rotate the onion 90 degrees, then dice it up.

TPW_3566

Easy as pie.

TPW_3567

Garlic.

TPW_3569

Three or four cloves, peeled.

TPW_3570

Mince ‘em up.

TPW_3573

Two cans of tomato sauce. You can use marinara sauce if you’d like. But this is simple, man!

TPW_3576

In a large skillet, heat equal parts olive oil and butter.

TPW_3581

Stir them around and start the cooking process…

TPW_3583

Then pour in the tomato sauce!

TPW_3586
TPW_3589

Stir it around and let it cook for 20 to 30 minutes over low heat. Add in a little salt, a little pepper, a little sugar if the sauce tastes a little acidic. You can also add crushed red pepper flakes if you’d like!

TPW_3591

This is about 25 minutes later. It’s thick, deeper in color, flavorful. Done.

TPW_3595

Remove the sauce from the heat and let it sit for a minute or two, then pour in a cup of cream.

Yes, I said a cup of cream.

Yes. I said a cup. Of cream.

I am who I am and that’s all that I am.

TPW_3604

Stir it around…

TPW_3606

And watch it slowly turn to a light orangish-red.

TPW_3610

Drain the pasta, reserving a good cup or so of the hot pasta water.

TPW_3614

Throw some grated Romano or Parmesan cheese into the sauce…

TPW_3617

Then throw the pasta right on top of the cheese.

TPW_3619

Toss it around gently, coating the pasta with the sauce.

Die from anticipation.

Note: If the sauce is a little too gloopy and thick, just splash in a little hot pasta water to thin it out a bit.

TPW_3621

Lettuce leaf basil from my garden.

Any basil will do!

TPW_3627

To finish it off, sprinkle on a little more cheese if that’s what makes you happy in life, and add a bunch of basil.

TPW_3633

Toss it around…

TPW_3640

And use tongs to serve it up! You’ll notice that I added quite a bit of cheese (you can see the little bits on the noodles) but I have a bit of an illness there. You can pull back a little bit if you’d like!

TPW_3646

…and the girl was happy.

And the girl was so, so happy.

Note that you can add chicken, shrimp, veggies…anything at all to this simple sauce. But sometimes I like to enjoy things in their most basic, stripped-down state. It’s reassuring that such simple things can be so divine.

Enjoy!

Are you ready to eat Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 25 Minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 8

Ingredients
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 2 Tablespoons Butter
  • 1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
  • 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
  • 2 cans (15 Oz. Size) Tomato Sauce Or Marinara Sauce
  • Salt And Pepper, to taste
  • Dash Of Sugar (more To Taste)
  • 1 cup Heavy Cream
  • Grated Parmesan Or Romano Cheese, To Taste
  • Fresh Basil, Chopped
  • 1-1/2 pound Fettuccine
Preparation Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.

Heat butter and oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for a minute or so. Pour in tomato sauce and add salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. Stir and cook over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and stir in cream. Add cheese to taste, then check seasonings. Stir in pasta and chopped basil and serve immediately. (Thin with pasta water before adding basil if needed.)

No comments:

Post a Comment