Everyone needs a good standby pasta sauce. Easy and quick to make – ideally from store cupboard ingredients. This one fits the bill beautifully.
It was inspired by a supper we had one holiday at a small creperie in Normandy. French galettes filled with a delicious sauce – lots of onions, lardons, rich tomatoes and crème fraiche stirred in to give it a rich smooth flavor. (Mmmm – roll on summer holidays!)
Even better – it takes less than 20 minutes to make, even when I’m tired and slow at the end of a long day.
And if you want another quick meal tomorrow – make a little extra and try Chicken Cacciatore (see below).
OR you can always use the extra tomato sauce to serve up with Lamb Meatballs with Feta.
Planning to have leftovers is one of my favourite ways of saving cooking time during the week.
Bacon and Tomato Pasta sauce with creme fraiche
(Serves 4 of us)
Ingredients
- 1 Pack of bacon lardons or pack of bacon – cut into strips
- 3 medium onions, sliced
- 2 tins of chopped tomatoes in juice
- Approx 10 fresh basil leaves
- 100g half-fat crème fraiche with extra to serve
- Grated cheddar cheese to serve
- Pasta for 4
(If you want to make chicken cacciatore the next day, add another onion and another tin of chopped tomatoes to the sauce. When cooked, remove about a third of the sauce before adding the creme fraiche, and keep it in the fridge for the next day – or freeze.)
Method
- Fry bacon and onions in a little oil until onions are soft.
- Add the tins of chopped tomatoes and simmer for ~10 minutes uncovered until sauce has thickened a little.
- Add the basil leaves, torn into pieces.
- (If making extra for tomorrow then reserve about a third of the sauce at this stage.)
- Season with black pepper (the bacon is usually salty enough), and stir in 100g crème fraiche.
- Serve with cooked pasta and grated cheese
