Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce

 

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

There’s this one:

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

And there’s this one:

Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce. Ridiculously yummy.

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

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.

An onion!

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

Peel off the paper, then make vertical slices.

Rotate the onion 90 degrees, then dice it up.

Easy as pie.

Garlic.

Three or four cloves, peeled.

Mince ‘em up.

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

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

Stir them around and start the cooking process…

Then pour in the tomato sauce!

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!

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

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.

Stir it around…

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

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

Throw some grated Romano or Parmesan cheese into the sauce…

Then throw the pasta right on top of the cheese.

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.

Lettuce leaf basil from my garden.

Any basil will do!

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.

Toss it around…

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!

…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.)