afoona
Pasta in Cream Sauce
Pasta & Rice

Pasta in Cream Sauce

Heavy cream reduced at a gentle bubble in a skillet (usually over fried onion, garlic and vegetables), and the pasta goes in with a little of the cooking water and is tossed until the sauce clings; Parmesan on top.

⏱ 18 min🧩 2 parts

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Cooked pasta

  1. 1
    Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water (4¼ cups of water and a heaping teaspoon of salt for every 4 oz of pasta), following the package directions (taste about 2 minutes early), until al dente.
    ⚙ Cooking in salted waterStovePot
    💡The water should taste like a seasoned soup, not like sea water: a heaping teaspoon of salt per liter. Add the salt once the water is boiling.
  2. 2
    Reserve cup of the cooking water before draining.
    ⚙ Saving the cooking waterLadleorMeasuring cup
    💡The cooking water is starchy: a spoonful or two binds the sauce to the pasta or the gnocchi and makes it glossy.
  3. 3
    Drain.
    Colander

To assemble

  1. 4
    Add the cream and bring to a gentle boil. Turn down the heat and simmer 2–3 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly.
    ⚙ SimmeringStove
    💡Reduce cream at a gentle bubble, not a hard boil: a few minutes is enough for it to thicken, and loosen a sauce that got too thick with a spoonful of pasta water.
    💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
  2. 5
    Add the drained pasta and a little of the cooking water, season with salt and black pepper and toss for about a minute over low heat, until the sauce clings to the pasta.
    Stove
  3. 6
    Serve immediately, with the Parmesan on top.
712calories
22 gprotein
91 gcarbs
26 gfat
● protein 13%● carbs 54%● fat 34%

Per serving (200 g), of 4 servings

For the Cooked pasta · To assemble ·

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⚖ About the ingredients

🔧 Tools needed (4) · 🍳 One cooking vessel

  • Stove · 💡 Workaround, changes the dish: Portable hot plate (one weaker burner) · Camping gas stove (One burner, outdoors) · Electric pressure cooker (multicooker) (One pot, no real shallow frying)
  • Pot · Also works: Deep skillet (sauté pan) (less liquid, faster evaporation) · 💡 Workaround, changes the dish: Wok (For quick cooking)
  • Colander · Also works: Lid (a lid held slightly open over the sink, you lose a little) · Slotted spoon (for small amounts)
  • Ladle or Measuring cup · one of them

By the steps, as the recipe is built now: another version or addition can change the list.

🧩 Parts

⚙️ What you can change

  • Possible additions: butter · olive oil · Chicken breast strips · Chicken frying time (minutes) (5) · Seared salmon cubes · Cutting the salmon into cubes (cm) (2) · Seasoning the salmon (part of the salt) (half the salt) · Seasoning at the end (rest of the salt) (the rest of the salt and black pepper) · garlic · Mushrooms · Artichoke hearts · Cooked fresh tomatoes · Turmeric · Dried mushrooms soaked in hot water (minutes) (20) · Red pepper · Green pepper · Shrimp · Mussels · Cumin · Fresh spinach · Peas · White wine · Paprika · Stock with the cream · Cherry tomatoes in the cream · Chili pepper · Dried thyme · Dried oregano · Dried basil · Lemon juice · Grated lemon zest · Gorgonzola melted into the sauce · Emmental melted into the sauce · Parmesan melted into the sauce before the pasta · Ricotta · Yellow cheese melted into the sauce · Nutmeg · Parmesan · Walnuts · Arugula on top · basil · Parsley · Dill
  • Chicken shape in the steps (cubes): strips
  • Heat level: medium
  • Salmon searing time per side (minutes): 2–3
  • Garlic frying time: 1 minute
  • Mushroom frying time (minutes): 5–7
  • Artichoke frying time (minutes): 3–4
  • Tomato cooking time (minutes): 4
  • How much of the soaking water goes in with the wine: ½ cup
  • Pepper frying time (minutes): 3
  • Shrimp frying time (minutes): 2–3
  • Mussel cooking time (minutes): about 3
  • Spinach cooking time (minutes): 2–3
  • Pea cooking time (minutes): 3
  • Wine cooking time (minutes): 2

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