Creamy Tomato Pasta Sauce (easy and delicious!)
A glossy creamy tomato sauce that takes no time to make but tastes like it's from a restaurant! A creamy parmesan base with tomato paste, garlic and a squeeze of lemon for the perfect finishing touch.
Servings: 2 people
Ingredients
- 200 grams dried pasta (or 300 grams fresh)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 30 grams butter (2 tablespoons)
- ½ onion, finely chopped, see notes
- 3 garlic cloves, finely diced
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 70 grams tomato paste (¼ cup)
- ¾ cup cream
- 40 grams parmesan, very finely grated
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Get a pot of heavily salted water boiling for your pasta and cook pasta, timing it to add straight into the sauce at the end. (see note below) If you drain the pasta before sauce is ready make sure to reserve a mug of the pasta water first.
- Heat the olive oil and butter in a big frying pan over medium-high heat and add the diced onions.
- When sizzling, lower the heat to medium-low and cook for 4-5 minutes until soft.
- Add the garlic and pepper and cook for a further minute or two. Nothing should be browning so turn the heat to low if you need.
- Add the tomato paste and whisk to combine, cooking for a minute or two.
- Add the cream and whisk to combine evenly. The cream should only ever be at a very gentle simmer, never boiling, so adjust heat if you need.
- Add the lemon juice and whisk in quickly. If you ever have trouble with it curdling your sauce you can put it in at the end with the cooked pasta.
- Add the finely grated parmesan in three separate lots, whisking in between each addition to make sure it has melted.
- Add your pasta straight into the sauce with a splash of pasta water (about ¼ cup). Let the pasta bubble away in the sauce gently for a minute or two to thicken the sauce. Loosen with more pasta water if you need to.
- Taste for seasoning and add salt to taste.
- Serve and enjoy. I love to add some extra parmesan and black pepper plus some fresh basil leaves never go astray.
- Check out video below to see it come together.
Video
Notes
Onion - My half onion weighs about 70 grams. It’s optional and I often leave it out if I am feeling lazy! If skipping it, leave out the olive oil too. Melt the butter, then add the garlic and pepper.
Timing the pasta - If your dried pasta is going to take 11 - 12 minutes to boil then start the sauce about 3 - 4 minutes into the pasta cooking.
Pasta water - This sauce only needs a splash, but always reserve a mug of pasta water before draining so you can loosen it as needed. I transfer my pasta straight from the pot into the sauce, keeping the water handy.
Keep it saucy - The sauce might look quite generous at first, but pasta absorbs liquid quickly, including while you’re serving it. Keep it a little looser in the pan than you want it in the bowl. I would always rather have too much sauce than too little!