Last summer right before June was born we made this recipe for the first time and we literally wanted to drink the sauce. It is so good. I suppose you could use canned tomatoes but in my opinion the farmers market-full of flavor tomatoes are what push this recipe over the edge. Thus we only make it in the summer time when delicious tomatoes are in season and plentiful and my herb garden has tons of basil to spare, however don’t be dismayed you can enjoy this sauce into the fall and winter because it freezes like a dream! So go ahead and triple the recipe like i did last week and freeze enough that you can enjoy it once a month for the next six! There is a video below showing how i froze this sauce in my Demarle 6 shape round tray .
The Best Fresh Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta
3 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups of milk
4 ounces cream cheese
3/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt & pepper
2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons white wine
2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Your choice of pasta- i used whole wheat gnocchi from aldi, if you use the full recipe of sauce you can cook a whole box of pasta, possibly a little more.
Directions:
Melt butter in a saucepan on medium-low heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour. Gradually add milk, whisking to combine as you go. I generally add it about 1/2 cup at a time, whisk, then wait for the milk to heat up and thicken a bit before adding more. Once all the milk has been added and it’s hot {do not boil!} add the cream cheese. Whisk to combine. Heat the sauce back up before adding the Parmesan cheese. Simmer this until all is melted, and mixed well. Stir in sun-dried tomatoes, white wine, fresh tomatoes, and basil. Cook just until heated through. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Gently stir into tomato basil sauce, or to save as much sauce as possible i dish up our pasta on to plates and then top with the sauce, this way i’m only using what we eat that night and can freeze the rest, even with just one recipe i can usually freeze enough for another dinner. Top with Parmesan cheese and garnish with extra basil.
Freezing Directions:To freeze, prepare sauce as directed above. Freeze in quart size bag. To serve: Thaw and reheat sauce. Cook pasta according to package directions. Combine and serve as directed above.
\