I have a confession to make. I used to eat spaghetti with ketchup. It went on well into my college years. And, as long as I’m coming clean, I will add that I used to put ketchup in my mashed potatoes too. I know. Someone really should’ve reported me to the ketchup police for my atrocious misuse of that condiment. These days, while I still love ketchup, I have moved on to more appealing and age-appropriate sauces (at least for my pasta). This Tomato Cream Pasta Sauce has, without a doubt, redeemed me for years of pasta sauce atrocities.
Our family has been enjoying this truly delicious sauce for a long time. It’s my favorite pasta sauce and is perfect on any type of pasta, but I really love it on ravioli or tortellini. It has just the right amount of texture and thickness to top filled pastas without running off the sides. It’s also light enough in flavor to handle any ravioli filling, no matter how rich.
Every year on Valentine’s Day, I make this sauce to serve over our favorite ravioli. Lucky for us, we have a great Italian market (Mimi’s Ravioli) in our neighborhood. They make amazing ravioli with tasty fillings, such as, smoked mozzarella, artichoke, butternut squash, and our favorite, lobster. This pretty, pink lobster-filled ravioli makes an appearance at Mimi’s every year around Valentine’s Day. Topped with this Tomato Cream Pasta Sauce, it makes for a truly special meal.
Its pretty orange color is achieved both by the addition of carrots and by a small amount of cream. It’s also very good without the cream for those preferring to keep things light. This sauce involves only a few minutes of hands-on time and has simple ingredients – Olive oil (or butter, which I highly recommend), carrots, celery, onion, canned tomatoes, heavy cream (or half and half), and a bit of sugar and salt. Most of its preparation (1 hour) is allotted to the simmering and melding of its ingredients.
After it has simmered and the vegetables have softened, it is pureed. The result is this silky, smooth, and deeply flavorful sauce. I finished it off with a little cream and then served it over ravioli and linguini (for my youngest daughter who prefers noodles to filled pasta). If you’re not a fan of filled pastas either, serve it over your favorite pasta shape. It would also be a perfect topper for fish or seafood.
This Tomato Cream Pasta Sauce is easy enough for a weeknight meal and sophisticated enough for a special occasion. Everyone in our family loves it and I think you will too. It’s dreamy and very worthy of a spot at your table. Enjoy.
Tomato Cream Pasta Sauce
My favorite pasta sauce – tomatoey and mildly creamy, slightly thick, and so flavorful on ravioli or any other pasta.
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil or 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped small
- 1 large carrot, chopped small
- 1 large celery stalk, chopped small
- 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 cup heavy cream or half and half (optional)
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Heat oil or butter in a medium-sized saucepan.
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Add onion, carrot, celery, tomatoes, salt, and sugar. Bring to a quick boil and then reduce heat to low. Simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour.
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Puree in blender or food processor and return to saucepan.
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Stir in cream or half and half (if using) and warm over low heat.
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Taste and add additional salt, if necessary.
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Serve over pasta with shredded/shaved Parmesan cheese, if desired.
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