Good for the palate, bad for the heart
A rich rosé sauce with mushrooms and bacon bits.
Ingredients
- 250 ml heavy cream [8.5 fl oz]
- 140 gr tomato concentrate [5 oz] (I use Mutti's)
- 3 big portobello mushrooms (using button mushrooms is ok too)
- 1/2 cup milk (use as needed)
- 10-12 strips bacon
- 30 gr butter [ 1 oz]
- 1 tbsp flour
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 60 ml vodka [2 fl oz]
- a pinch of ground nutmeg
- grated parmesan
Instructions
Prepare the Main Ingredients
- Fry (in oil or butter) the mushrooms until they lose most of their moisture.
- Fry the bacon – put the strips on cold nonstick pan and fry until crisp. Cut the strips to small bits.
Roux-ish Base
- In a small pot or saucepan on low heat melt the butter.
- Added the garlic and cook for around a minute – until fragrance change from spicy to sweet, don't let the garlic brown.
- Add the flour while constantly stirring. Let the roux brown a bit (a few minutes).
Combining the Sauce
- Add the heavy cream slowly while stirring to avoid creating clumps. Turn up the heat.
- Add the tomato concentrate and blend until homogeneous. Heat until beginning to boil – than lower the heat. Add the nutmeg.
- Check the sauce consitency, if it is too thick add small amount of milk until it is at the desired consistency. A good consitency is when the liquid drips slowly from a spoon or ladle.
- Add the vodka and bacon bits, cook on low heat for 5-10 minutes. Taste and add salt as needed
- Serve with grated parmesan on the side.
Notes
This is also a great sauce without the bacon – for a lighter and kosher dish.
Tips on making the pasta
Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package, I prefer Barilla’s spaghetti.
If there are no instructions on the package – cook in boiling water with salt stirring occasionally.
(the salt is for the taste – I use a tbsp of kosher salt for 3 liters of water [0.8 gallons]).
Spill the pasta to a strainer when the pasta tastes cooked (no grainy texture) but a bit hard (al dente). Pour a bit of olive oil on the pasta to prevent it from sticking.
