Pesto Cream Sauce Pasta with Basil Garlic Infused Tomato Sauce

Just to let you know, this post is about two great sauces, put together in the same dish.  It is inspired by a dish served at one of our go-to restaurants here in Toronto, Sugo. 

Sugo is an upscale casual diner serving classic Italian American dishes.  The dish in question was served one evening as a one-off, but the response was so intense, that it made it to permanent menu status.  This wondrous meal is a combination of their Pesto Cream Spaghetti, and their classic Tomato Sugo pasta.  Combining the brightness of the pesto with the light but intense tomato flavoured sauce creates such a flavour bomb in your mouth! Here is my version.

Basil and Garlic Infused Tomato Sauce

Basil and Garlic Infused Oil: This easy tomato sauce starts with infusing olive oil with fresh basil, garlic cloves, and red pepper flakes.  They simmer in the oil for a few minutes, and then taken off the heat to allow the flavours to meld. 

Once everything has cooled down, transfer everything to a blender or small chopper and blend till coarsely chopped.  You don’t want to blend till everything is completely combined, creating a straight green colour from all the basil.  Stop blending before this has happened.  Alternatively, use a slotted spoon to transfer the basil and garlic cloves to a chopping board.  You can mince this by hand, controlling the final size of the ingredients.  Combine with the oil and chili flakes in a small jar and set aside till needed.

The reason you don’t want to over-blend the ingredients is that the resulting pure green paste, once combined with the simmering tomato sauce will create a dull red brown colour.  It’s a colour theory issue at this point.  If you want your sauce to keep some of its rich tomato red colour, don’t add a pure green paste to it.

Tomato Sauce: Here we are going to put the iconic Marcella Hazan version to work. It has never failed me!  Butter is browned in a pot, and then a halved onion, cut side down is added.  Let it simmer in the butter and a little oil till the exposed halves are golden brown. Carefully add a large jar of crushed tomatoes. You can use homemade passata, or your favorite grocery store brand. Most jars etc have about 3 1/2 cups of passata.  Feel free to use up to four cups if you have it. Once it all comes to a rolling simmer, add salt and turn down the heat, cover and let is simmer for 25 minutes.  

Now you are going to add the pureed basil and garlic oil to the tomato sauce.  Stir it through, taste the sauce and season with additional salt if needed.  Simmer uncovered for 10 more minutes.  Once cooled a little, remove the onion.  Now it is ready to be used.  Serve over cooked pasta, with homemade Meatballs, layered with penne and grated cheese and baked, you get it, pretty well anyway you want!

This sauce will last four or five days in the fridge. It can also be frozen for up to three months.

Pesto Cream Sauce

On to the second sauce for this final dish.  The ingredients for this cream sauce are really simple: pesto sauce (homemade or purchased) heavy cream, chopped fresh basil, and salt.

I am sharing the amounts for two servings below, obviously you can increase or decrease the portion amounts, but cooking time may need to adjusted.

This sauce comes together simply in just moments.  You will bring the heavy cream to a simmer over medium heat in a small pot.  Let it simmer till slightly thickened and reduced by not quite half.  At this point, stir in the pesto sauce, reduce the heat to medium low, and let them both cook down together. Don’t cook over more than medium heat, as the basil will turn black if it is cooked on high heat. Taste to see if you are happy with the amount of salt.  Depending on the pesto sauce you are using, you may only need minimal.  This can be made as the pasta is cooking.

You will not need to save any pasta water for this dish, as the cream in the pesto cream sauce will be enough to coat the pasta comfortably.

In a separate bowl, combine cooked and drained spaghetti with the pesto cream sauce, along with a little more fresh pesto sauce, as well as fresh chopped basil.  Toss together till well coated.  Do not toss the pasta with the pesto cream in a hot pot, again to avoid the basil turning colour,

Serving

To serve this dish, spoon out some of the warm Basil and Garlic Tomato Sauce on the bottom of a rimmed plate or pasta bowl.  Twirl the pesto cream tossed pasta in a large fork and place over the tomato sauce.  Keep placing more twirled pasta onto the plate.  I use a carving fork since it is large and has long tines!

Finish with a copious amount of freshly grated Parmesan cheese!

Final Thoughts

Here is the link to my homemade Pesto.  I like to make fresh batches once the ramps are up, each spring.  But the amounts and method are the same, whether you are using basil, spinach, arugula, or even broccoli!  It is all in the recipe.

Keep this post handy, you’ve got two great sauces to work with. These two sauces are obviously great on their own, used with your favorite pastas etc.  But once you’ve combined them, you will be hooked!  You will look for every opportunity to eat this dish just the way we originally enjoyed it.  It’s rather addictive. 

Here are other pesto based dishes to check out: Asparagus Pesto Ricotta Tart, Pesto and Cheddar Biscuits with Ramps, Asparagus Fettuccini with Ramp Pesto Spring Green Minestrone with Pesto

If you make this bright, intense Pesto Cream Pasta with Basil and Garlic Infused Tomato Sauce, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! It’s always lovely to hear from you guys, and I always do my best to respond to each comment or question. And of course, if you do make this recipe, and you post it on Instagram, don’t forget to also tag me so I can see! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is such a treat.

Love Jen

5 from 1 vote

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Pesto Cream Pasta over Basil and Garlic Infused Tomato Sauce

Tossing pasta in this wonderful bright Pesto Cream sauce is sublime. Serving it on a bed of intense Basil and Garlic Infused Tomato Sauce takes it to the next level, I promise!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Basil and Garlic Infused Oil, fresh tomato sauce, Pesto Cream

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 34 minutes

Servings 2

Ingredients

Basil and Garlic Infused Tomato Sauce

Infused Garlic Oil

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• large handful of fresh basil, leaves and stems
• 5 medium to large garlic cloves, smashed with the side of a knife
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Tomato Sauce

• 1 large yellow onion
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 28 oz (796 ml) jar crushed tomatoes, can use up to four cups if you have it
• salt, to taste

Pesto Cream Sauce, enough for two servings

• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup pesto, plus 2 tbsp, homemade or purchased, see Notes
• 4 tbsp chopped fresh basil
• salt and pepper
• 8 oz cooked (as per package) spaghetti drained
• 6 tbsp Fresh grated Parmesan Cheese, or as much as you desire

Instructions

Basil and Garlic Infused Tomato Sauce

Infused Oil

1. Combine the olive oil, fresh basil, garlic cloves and red pepper flakes in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Let it simmer for two minutes. Take the pan off the heat and let it infuse.

2. Once cooled down, blend everything together in a small food chopper or blender. Only blend till coarsely chopped up, you don't want to blend it to a fine green paste. Alternatively you can remove the basil and garlic with a slotted spoon to a cutting board and mince with a knife till finely chopped. Return this to the oil and pepper flakes and stir together. Set aside till needed in the tomato sauce.

Tomato Sauce

1. Slice the onion in half, through the root and stem portion. Remove the outer skins, but leave the root intact to hold the onion halves together while they cook.

2. Add the butter and 1 tbsp of olive oil to the medium large heavy bottomed pot like a dutch oven . Let it cook down over medium high, till fragrant and turning a lovely golden brown. Add the halved onion, cut side down. Let the onions sear in the butter till the exposed cut bottoms take on a burnish and a golden brown crust is forming, about 2-3 minutes.

3. Add the tomato passata gently and slowly (or else it will splatter!) It may be best to stand back as you pour it in, since the oil will sputter. Let it come to a gentle boil. Add salt to taste, and reduce the heat to low. Cover with a lid and simmer for 25 minutes.

4. Add the basil and garlic infused olive oil to the pot and simmer for another 10 minutes, uncovered. Taste and re-season as desired. If you find the tomato sauce tastes too acidic, add a teaspoon of sugar to help balance the flavour.

Pesto Cream

1. At the same time that you are preparing the pesto cream, you can be cooking the pasta. Drain it and set aside. You will not need to reserve any pasta water as the cream sauce will be enough to coat the pasta comfortably.

2. In a small sauce pan add the heavy cream and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Let it cook down, and thicken, about three minutes, till you have reduced the cream by a few tablespoons.

3. Add the 1/2 cup of pesto and stir through the cream. Continue to cook, reducing the heat to medium low so that the basil doesn't turn colour (if the heat is too high the basil can turn black). Let it simmer till thickened, about three to four minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired.

4. Add the drained pasta to a bowl. Pour the pesto cream over it, along with the remaining two tablespoons of pesto sauce. Toss well to coat. Add the chopped basil and give it a final toss.

Serve

1. Place a few large spoonfuls of the Infused Tomato Sauce at the bottom of a pasta bowl or rimmed plate. It should be enough to cover the bottom, about 1/2 cup in total.

2. Twirl the pesto cream pasta and place on top of the tomato sauce. Continue until all the pasta is placed decoratively over the sauce. Garnish with plenty of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

3. See blog post for more details and serving suggestions.

Recipe Notes

See my Ramp Pesto for a great master pesto recipe. You can adapt it to your choice of greens and nuts.

The Tomato Sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to five days. It can also be frozen.
The pesto sauce is enough for two servings. If you want to make more, the cooking time may be longer to reduce the cream.
Use your favourite pasta.  You will not need to reserve any pasta water since the Pesto Cream sauce has enough to coat the pasta comfortably, it will not be dry.

Basil and Garlic Infused Tomato Sauce inspired by Marcella Hazan and Scarpetta's Spaghetti with Tomato and Basil, see here.