Pink Pasta Sauce Recipe
Pink pasta sauce is a blend of tomato sauce and heavy cream. This amazing sauce comes together really fast with just a handful of ingredients.
Serve it with your favorite type of pasta, like spaghetti, penne, fettuccine, or tagliatelle.
What is pink pasta sauce? Pink pasta sauce is nothing more than a mixture of tomato sauce and heavy cream, but although it sounds simple, it is an excellent sauce you must try.
Pink pasta sauce is something I came across while visiting the Middle East. Everywhere I went, I could see people enjoying pasta with a sauce unknown to me. Naturally, I had to try it, and I was not disappointed!
My friend told me it is very popular in the region and he doesn’t know anyone who dislikes it. As soon as I came home, I started making may own.
It has a tang of tomato sauce and creaminess from the heavy cream, without being too rich or heavy. It makes creamy pasta more approachable.
Do I Need Heavy Cream?
Heavy cream is somehow always linked with pasta, just like tomato sauce. There are various recipes including heavy cream, and even this one. What if you do not want heavy cream, or just do not have it at the time?
You can use other substitutes. My easiest one is to use half and half. Half and half is simply equal parts of cream and milk, while heavy cream is just cream.
If you plan to use half and half, you can expect your sauce to be thinner. You can avoid this by simmering your sauce for some extra time, and it will be just perfect.
Another thing I experimented with is combining tomato sauce with béchamel sauce. I made slightly thinner béchamel cream or sauce with 1 tbsp butter and added 1 tbsp all-purpose flour.
Once the mixture stared to smell like popcorn, I whisked in 1 cup of milk. I cooked the sauce until it thickened a bit. Then, I combined my béchamel sauce with the tomato sauce.
Speaking about the creaminess, the results were the same. Of course, it is easier to pour heavy cream from the carton, but just in case you do not have it, know the béchamel sauce will work just as well.
How To Season Pink Sauce
I did not play with seasonings here too much, just salt, pepper, and a mix of dried Italian herbs. I kept it very simple. If you want to add more flavor, you can add ¼ cup of beef stock or a small splash of balsamic vinegar for a bit of extra tanginess.
Also, you can make your sauce spicy by adding some chili pepper flakes, or by adding some Sriracha.
Tomato Passata Or Tomato Paste?
These are not two identical things. TTomato passata is pureed and strained tomatoes, usually sold in bottles. It is 100% tomato without additives. It has a smooth texture, unlike crushed or chopped tomatoes.
Tomato passata is known by the name tomato puree. If you are thinking that you can just blend some crushed tomatoes and that will give you passata, I must stop you there.
Tomato passata, or puree, is not gained just by blending tomatoes. Once they are blended, they are strained and the residue is pushed through the fine mesh sieve. That residue is your passata.
Tomato passata is not the same as tomato sauce, as tomato sauce has flavorings in it. So, try finding tomato puree or tomato sauce without any flavoring.
Tomato paste, on the other hand, has a thicker consistency and more intense tomato flavor. Although it sounds like the perfect candidate, it is not suitable for this type of sauce.
Tips For The Perfect Pink Pasta Sauce
- If you are serving sauce with the pasta, make sure you do not overcook the pasta. Overcooked pasta in combination with sauce will just become a mushy mess.
- Cook onions in the skillet until they are super soft and almost like a paste. Once you add your tomato passata, they will stop cooking. If there are chunks, they will stay. Still, you can fix this by blending the passata and the onions.
How To Serve Pink Pasta Sauce
As mentioned, you can serve it with pasta, but it also pairs nicely with ravioli. The sauce works great over poultry and seafood.
Pink pasta sauce
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 2 tbsp olive oil or butter
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 ½ cup tomato passata
- 2 cloves garlic, or garlic powder, optional
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tsp dried Italian herbs
- Salt and pepper to taste
To serve:
- 0.75 lb pasta, desired kind
Instructions
1. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add onion and cook, stirring for 5 minutes over medium-high heat.
3. Add garlic, if using, and cook for 1 minute.
4. Pour in tomato passata and add Italian herbs.
5. Simmer for a few minutes then gradually add heavy cream.
6. Stir well and toss in the drained pasta.
7. Cook until warmed through.
8. Serve pasta warm and enjoy!
Pink Pasta Sauce Recipe
This deliciously creamy and luxurious pasta sauce is a simple blend of tomato sauce, heavy cream, and a few tasty add-ins.
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 2 tbsp olive oil or butter
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 ½ cup tomato passata
- 2 cloves garlic, or garlic powder, optional
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tsp dried Italian herbs
- Salt and pepper to taste
To serve:
- 0.75 lb pasta, desired kind
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add onion and cook stirring for 5 minutes over medium-high heat.
- Add garlic, if using, and cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in tomato passata and add Italian herbs.
- Simmer for a few minutes then gradually add heavy cream.
- Stir well and toss in the drained pasta.
- Cook until warmed through.
- Serve pasta warm.
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