Rating: 5 stars

This creamy tomato sauce recipe is a favorite cold weather comfort food at our house. It tastes great and makes the whole house smell amazing. We like to make it as a week night meal. If you have large enough pots, it is great option for a family style dinner too. Rigatoni or a wide noodle like pappardelle work well with this sauce.

My inspiration for the dish came from St Francis winery. If you are in their wine club, their chef sends you recipe cards for dishes that pair with their wines. We got a recipe card with one of our shipments and tried it out. Their dish used fettuccini, sausage, and a lot of cream. The oregano, sage and pepper were really nice together. We really liked the flavors, and their dish really does pair nicely with red wines like merlot and zinfandel.

Over time I made a few changes. I found that we prefer less cream than they used. Originally the recipe called for a pound of sausage. Out of necessity I had to substitute bacon when we didn’t have sausage, and now have settled on a mix of the two. A smoked bacon adds some great depth. Lastly I use a variety of noodles. This mezzo rigatoni is a short rigatoni. It holds the sauce nicely. We do use the sauce with regular rigatoni, and other wide noodles like pappardelle too.

It is important to use really nice bacon and tomatoes since they are the bedrock of the sauce. We get a thick cut smoked bacon from our butcher. If you use a lower quality bacon, it would work, but you will want to drain off the extra fat that it will render. For tomatoes we use the San Marzano type which aren’t too sweet. Many times the tomatoes come whole and peeled in sauce. It speeds things along if you crush the tomatoes with your hands as you add them to the dish.

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Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce

This pasta with creamy tomato sauce recipe tastes great and makes the whole house smell amazing. We cook this about once a week during the fall and winter.

Prep Time

5 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Servings

servings

Ingredients

• 2 strips bacon cut into lardons (1/4 inch pieces)
• 1/2 pound italian sausage bulk or removed from casing
• 1 cup onion diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced or pressed
• 1 tablespoon sage dried
• 1 tablespoon oregano dried
• 1 teaspoon fennel dried
• 28 ounces diced tomatoes with juice
• 1/4 cup cream
• 3/4 pound pasta such as rigatoni or pappardelle
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated

Optional

• 1/2 cup pasta cooking water Add if needed to moisten the sauce.

Prep Time 5 minutes Cook Time 30 minutes Servings servings Ingredients 2 strips bacon cut into lardons (1/4 inch pieces) 1/2 pound italian sausage bulk or removed from casing 1 cup onion diced 2 cloves garlic minced or pressed 1 tablespoon sage dried 1 tablespoon oregano dried 1 teaspoon fennel dried 28 ounces diced tomatoes with juice 1/4 cup cream 3/4 pound pasta such as rigatoni or pappardelle 1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated Optional 1/2 cup pasta cooking water Add if needed to moisten the sauce.

Instructions

1. In a large pot, bring water to a boil for the pasta.
2. In a second pot, add bacon, sausage, and onions. Cook 10 minutes until the meats are browned and the onions are translucent. Drain off fat if more than 2 tablespoons remains.

   
3. Add garlic, sage, oregano, and fennel. Cook for 2 minutes.

   
4. Add tomatoes and simmer for about 20 minutes. The tomatoes should should break down.

   
5. Add cream to the tomato sauce and stir to combine.

   
6. As the tomato sauce cooks, boil pasta until just done. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water and then drain.
7. Add pasta and to the sauce. Toss until coated.

   
8. Add more pasta cooking water a quarter cup at a time if the pasta seems dry. Some canned tomatoes don’t have much liquid, and even if they do you can cook off the water if the sauce simmers for a while.
9. Season with salt pepper to suit your taste.

   
10. Transfer pasta to a serving bowl and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

    

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