This silky creamy tomato pasta is the perfect spring weeknight dinner. It also tastes like sunshine and the Italian country side. It’s Bursting with juicy cherry tomatoes, peppery basil and just a kiss of cream to make it all silky and slurpable.
Summer feels like it’s on it’s way and judging by the level of sunshine we’ve been getting this last week, we’ve got a gorgeous few months ahead of us. But, those temperatures are still a little on the cool side. Which makes this time of year feel a little weird. Summer, but not quite yet.
So, we still need some warmer dinners, but that taste like sunshine and summer. Enter this creamy tomato pasta. I’ve used fresh cherry tomatoes because they are so sweet and juicy right now, and I love the way they burst open with pan.
So, no canned tomatoes here. Just fresh spring produce. Herbs, garlic, tomatoes, pasta and a splash of cream. It’s the perfect weeknight dinner. Did I mention it’s vegetarian and it’s healthy, too?
Tuscan Creamy Tomato Pasta Step By Step
- All it takes is some olive oil in a pan.
- Sweat some onion and garlic and add the tomatoes. Be sure to leave about 1/3 of the tomatoes whole and quarter the rest. This will give you amazing texture in your finished dish.
- Once the tomatoes have burst and released their juices add some cream.
That’s it. The simplest step by step ever.
Often times when people make pasta they have a tried and true type that they buy. Like some people will only ever buy penner, or others only buy farfalle (that’s bow ties to you and me!). But really to get the most out of a simple dish like pasta, it’s important to have the right noodle type for the kind of sauce that you’ll be making.
How to pair pasta with sauce
- So here’s a quick guide to help you achieve pasta perfection
- For creamy sauces use long flat noodles- linguine, fettuccine and tagliatelle
- For simple garlic tomato olive oil style pastas use long thin noodles- angel hair, capellini and spaghetti
- For bright fresh chilli and pancetta style pastas with a loose sauce use long thin tube noodles- perciatelli and Bucatini
The above it just a general guideline, but it really does make a difference to the bowl of pasta that you’ll be twirling around your fork. And when it’s this simple and slurp-able (is that a word?) it’s important that it can be the best that it can be.
So go forth Tuscan goddess and twirl that fork like you mean it.
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Tuscan Creamy Tomato Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound of fettuccine cooked according to the package instructions
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small white onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes divided *see notes
- 1/2 cup heavy double cream
- 1/2 cup pasta water *see notes
To serve
- Fresh basil and parmesan cheese.
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Once cooked drain the pasta keeping 1/2 - 1/4 cup of the pasta water.
- In a deep skillet or sauce pan heat the olive oil and add the onion and garlic. Sweat until soft and translucent or about 5 minutes.
- Add the cherry tomatoes and cook for a further 5-10 minutes. Until the juices have released from the tomatoes that the whole tomatoes have started to burst. Add the cream and 1/4 cup of the pasta water and bring to a boil. *If the sauce is too thick for your liking add the extra 1/4 cup water.
- Toss the pasta in the pan and mix with the sauce. Add the herbs and serve with fresh parmesan cheese.
Recipe Notes
*Note 1 Leave some of the tomatoes whole while chopping the rest helps to maximise the juices released from the tomatoes, while retaining some texture in the final dish.
*Note 2 The pasta water is a better option to let down this sauce rather than regular water because it will have some of the starch from the pasta which will give the pasta sauce some body while also being able to thin it out a little.
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