Hello friends of Hive.
I would like to share my version of a creamy tomato sauce that is not really as popular as it was years ago. It's darker the than traditional "pink" sauce, as I have added a light non dairy cream . The traditional version of the sauce which can be named Rosa or rosee, most often is mixed with heavy cream. I am making a lower fat version. This does not take away from the tomato lover's enjoyment.
I don't like to include such words in my titles such as "easy", "healthy" or "inexpensive". It's a matter of opinion from each individual depending what their budget is, their free time and their standards of health.
This sauce for me did cut some costs using plant based cream that was on sale for 50 cents. It also was easy requiring nothing but chopping, cooking and blending. It was not up to my standards of health but nothing I consume really is. However it did have less fat then it would if made the way I used to have it, from a jar.
To take it to a higher tomato level I used a combination of different tomatoes. I found some decent fresh tomatoes, which are hard to find these days. Now and then I stumble upon them. I also used a can of Italian tomatoes which costs a dollar more than the ones I usually get. It's worth it to use Italian tomatoes. They taste the best.
I added some sun dried tomatoes as well. These add some depth in my opinion.
In order to thicken the sauce without using heavy cream, I have added some celeriac root which also adds a subtle slightly sweet celery flavor, and adds thickness after blending. I also added some rice which adds to the thickness.
The chopping doesn't have to be precise. Everything is blended at the end. I happened to have purchased a kitchen gadget that helps chop vegetables faster then cutting. It does not make things even and precise, but it's faster.
The canned tomatoes can be blended or mashed up before cooking. I did not do that to save time and effort. I do enough chopping and prepping at work. I'm tired. I want something tasty, more sophisticated then from a jar, but made with as little effort as possible. Some people would say that this is not simple at all, which is why I don't like to put that word in my titles.
I like to start my cooking with my butane stove which is far better, hotter and faster then the conventional electric stove that came with the apartment. when it comes to the simmer, I transfer to the electric stove so I can walk away for a while.
I use a little oil in a large pot, and cooked the onions, celery and carrots until fairly tender and onions are translucent.
Then I added the fresh and dried tomatoes, along with the celeriac.
The pot was quite hot so I waited to add the garlic. I didn't want it to burn.
I did the unthinkable and added a splash of homemade vegetable stock. A pro chef would likely never do this, but I thought it was a good way to deglaze the pot along with a little wine. Whatever, I own this dish I can do what I want. Besides I have already taken the "traditional" out of it.
I finally added the canned tomatoes and the rice.
This oat cream could easily be homemade with oats and water but, after finding this for 50 cents I saved the time and effort by using this product instead.
I added the cream and basil at the end.
After the sauce had simmered on low for around 30 minutes, I started blending it with my hand blender. This was taking too long, and it doesn't make the sauce as silky as I wanted it to be. Sometimes I like it chunky but not this time.
I let it cool and transferred to my blender which I did in smaller batches.
Creamy tomato rosee sauce
250g fresh tomatoes
750 canned whole Italian tomatoes
80g sun dried tomatoes
60g carrot
50g celery
180g onion
30g garlic
100g celeriac
1/8 cup uncooked rice
20g fresh basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon black pepper
400ml oat cream
1/4 cup white wine optional
1/4 cup vegetable broth optional
Salt to taste
Short pasta is usually what is used for this sauce. I used organic store bought, tortiglioni.
I love to have homemade pasta but I don't have the strength to knead dough. Plus this was to be done fast. I had to get back to watching stupid movies, and I mean bad stupid, not good stupid, while lounging on the couch eating. My day off after all.
Now don't get me wrong, just because this is fast and simple, according to me, I really think the three forms of tomatoes adds a sophisticated tomato punch, if you like tomatoes as much as I do.
If this were non plant based, it would most likely have cheese added, along with the thick cream. I added my quick to make vegan parmesean, which is a combination of ground almond. or almond flour, nutritional yeast, citric acid and salt. I had some on hand.
While the pasta was cooking, I had the portion of sauce in a pan on medium low, with a few fresh cherry tomatoes, cooking in with the sauce. This was a little garnish along with some extra fresh basil.
Omitting the heavy cream and cheese makes this easy to eat and while filling, it doesn't leave me feeling heavy in the end.
This made approximately 3 litres of sauce. I used around one litre for the pasta. I cooked around 250 grams of pasta which was exactly enough for the two of us. No leftover pasta.
For the remaining sauce, I have put in the freezer for an even faster lunch on work days.
Thanks for dropping by and have a great day.
design by: @KidSistersPhotos taken with a Nikon D7500