Easy Blush Sauce
The first time I made blush sauce, I poured the cream in while the tomatoes were still at a rolling boil, and it went grainy on me. Kind of sad. Now I wait. The tomatoes get their own five minutes to calm down and lose that raw, tinny edge, and only then does the cream go in, over low heat, so the whole pan slowly turns a soft orange-pink that looks like a lot more work than it was.
It’s basically vodka sauce without the vodka. Honestly, I’ve never missed it. If your tomatoes taste sharp, a little brown sugar fixes that, so taste before the cream goes in. I keep a couple of cans of crushed tomatoes in the pantry for exactly this. We eat it over rigatoni with way too much Parmesan.
An easy blush sauce for nights when you can't decide between marinara and Alfredo. Silky and mellow, with a slow warmth from the chili flakes at the very end. It's ready in about 35 minutes, and leftovers keep four days in a jar in the fridge.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring now and then, for 5 to 7 minutes, until soft and translucent but not browned.1 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 cup yellow onion
- Stir in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Pour in the stock and let it simmer gently for 5 minutes so it picks up the onion flavor.1-2 garlic cloves, 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock
- Add the crushed tomatoes, red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring once or twice.12 oz crushed tomatoes, 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper
- Taste the sauce. If it's sharp or tangy, stir in 1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar, then add the rest only if it still needs it.1/2-1 tsp brown sugar
- Turn the heat to low. Pour in the heavy cream, add the dried basil and stir until the sauce turns an even pale pink. Simmer gently for 5 more minutes without letting it boil hard, which can make the cream split.1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/4 tsp dried basil
- Taste and adjust the salt. Add your cooked, drained pasta straight to the skillet and toss until every piece is coated, loosening with a splash of pasta water if needed. Serve hot, topped with grated Parmesan and torn fresh basil.1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, fresh basil leaves
Nutrition
Notes
One batch coats about 8 to 12 oz of dried pasta. If the sauce tightens up as it sits, stir in a splash of starchy pasta water.
You might also like our Creamy Chicken with Mashed Potatoes.
made this tuesday w penne and threw in some leftover rotisserie chicken. waited on the cream like the recipe says and it stayed smooth this time, mine always used to split lol
pretty good! my tomatoes were really acidic so i ended up using the full tsp of brown sugar. next time ill double the red pepper flakes, we like it spicier
used half and half bc thats what i had and it was still creamy, just kept the heat real low and simmered a couple extra min. kids ate it over cheese tortellini, no complaints