Creamy Tomato Pasta Sauce

Pasta with a creamy tomato sauce

“Life is a combination of magic and pasta”

~ Federico Fellini ~

It’s basic, but priceless: creamy tomato pasta sauce! I don’t think there is an easier home-cooked meal than pasta with a sauce! If you look at the vast quantity of ready-made pasta sauces available in supermarkets, it is really easy to cook yourself a quick and easy pasta dish. You don’t even really need to know how to cook. And when you do make use of shop bought sauces, it is easy to add extra ingredients like bacon, chicken or veggies. It also doesn’t take much knowledge or effort to finish off your dish with a sprinkle of chopped parsley or basil and some Parmesan cheese.

 

Home-made is not so hard either!

A home-made sauce could be quick and easy too though. And you know exactly what you have put into it. No worries about hidden sugars or preservatives. Mushroom sauce? Fry a punnet of sliced mushrooms in a bit of oil, season and add some pouring cream. If you let it reduce a bit to intensify the flavours, you can’t get a quicker or more delicious pasta sauce anywhere! Add to that the option of making a large batch of a basic sauce and freezing it in smaller portions and you have a very easy home-made pasta without cooking for hours. One of my favourite home-made sauces to make and freeze is Jamie Oliver’s 7-veg tomato sauce. Not only is the sauce easy to make and very delicious, but there is literally 7 types of vegetables in it! No cream or thickener – just good, nutritious veggies!

 

Basics + Creativity = Magic!

If you already know the basics of making a Home-made Tomato Sauce sauce from scratch, all you need to do is jazz it up with a few interesting ingredients, and you have arrived! As you can see in the Tomato Sauce recipe, using red wine is optional. I would definitely add the wine for this Creamy Tomato Pasta Sauce tough, as it gives it that something special missing from bottled sauces. I think I would serve this to my husband’s boss, in fact I might be bold enough to serve it to an Italian-born friend of mine!

 

Creamy Tomato Pasta Sauce

Turning plain tomato sauce into a delicious and decadent pasta sauce
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Course: Main Course
Servings: 4 people
Author: Melanie Blignaut

Ingredients

  • Pasta of your choice
  • 1 batch Home-made Tomato Sauce
  • 125 ml heavy cream (or sour cream or mascarpone)
  • 1 handful fresh basil, chopped
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Warm the Home-made Tomato Sauce in a large saucepan over medium heat.
  • Prepare the pasta according to the package instructions.
  • Add the cream and basil to the tomato sauce and bring to a fast simmer for about 5 minutes.
  • Reduce the heat and check the seasoning. Season with salt and pepper if necessary.
  • Once pasta is al dente drain, reserving some pasta water.
  • Add pasta to sauce and add some pasta water if the consistency is too thick.
  • Serve warm with Parmesan cheese and some more chopped basil.

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