Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta
Ingredients:
for the tomato sauce –
- 1 1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes (about 9 medium)
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 cup minced fresh basil
- olive oil
for the alfredo sauce –
(if you want to lighten it up, halve the alfredo and keep the tomato sauce the same)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons flour
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup half & half
- 2 garlic cloves peeled and crushed
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 pound farfalle or other short cut pasta
Directions:
- bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta.
- start the tomato sauce. bring a large pot of water to boil. score the bottom of the tomatoes, blanch in the boiling water for about a minute, cool and peel. discard skins. roughly chop tomatoes and set aside.
- in a small saucepan, sweat the minced onion and garlic in about a tablespoon of olive oil over medium low heat for about 5 minutes, until soft.
- add the tomatoes to the onion and garlic. if you want a thin sauce like mine, blend the sauce with an immersion blender. cook about 15 minutes until thickened.
- while the tomato sauce thickens, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the package directions.
- while the pasta and tomato sauce are cooking, make the alfredo sauce. melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. whisk in the flour until smooth and cook about 2 minutes, until brown.
- whisk in the milk, half & half, and garlic and season with salt & pepper. continuously whisking, bring to a simmer and cook about 2 minutes until thickened. fish out the garlic with a slotted spoon and discard.
- whisk in the parmesan. the sauce will be very thick, so add 1/3 cup of the hot pasta cooking water to the alfredo sauce to thin it out a bit. remove from heat.
- drain the pasta and add to the alfredo sauce.
- mix the basil into the tomato sauce and add the tomato sauce to the pasta. mix well.
One Response
could you make it without half and half?