ALFREDO’S 5-INGREDIENT SUN-DRIED TOMATO

Tossed pasta with a simple, easy-to-make sun-dried tomato alfredo sauce. It’s what to make on nights when you don’t have time to cook.

a view of spaghetti in a pan from above

ALFREDO SUN-DRIED TOMATO
Three cheers for just using five ingredients! Or maybe 5 cheers is in order because this creamy, warm, and simple pasta recipe requires just 5 ingredients and takes less than 30 minutes to prepare from pan to plate.

We’re making a sauce using a basic container of sun-dried tomatoes, cream, butter, and parmesan cheese that clings to every strand of pasta. In this example, I chose bucatini, a thicker-than-spaghetti noodle with a toothsome bite that holds up to the sauce.

This sun-dried tomato alfredo is a joyful, happy thing when the weather turns cooler and schedules grow busier. It’s a meal-saving recipe for those times when our best intentions to prepare our own dinner are jeopardized by take-out orders or drive-throughs.

a dish of sun-dried tomato puree

YOU’LL REQUIRE SOME INGREDIENTS
Look for sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil in jars. Puree the entire jar in the blender; you’ll only need 1/4 cup of the puree for this dish, so the rest may be saved in the fridge. Spread it on sandwiches, use it to make salad dressings, or add it to your next pot of spaghetti sauce.
Cream and butter.
Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Bucatini pasta goes especially nicely with this alfredo, but any long spaghetti will do.

That concludes our discussion. Because we all need a creamy, cheesy pan of pasta now and again, here’s a 5-ingredient supper suggestion to help you start your week off properly.

You know you want a bite, don’t you?

Alfredo with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Tossed pasta with a simple, easy-to-make sun-dried tomato alfredo sauce. It’s what to make on nights when you don’t have time to cook.

INGREDIENTS

a pound of bucatini
1/4 cup sun-dried tomato puree (see note)
1 quart of thick cream
a quarter-pound of butter
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

INSTRUCTIONS

A kettle of water should be brought to a boil. Follow the package directions for cooking the pasta.
In a skillet, combine the cream and butter. Bring everything to a low simmer, stirring constantly, until the butter has melted. Continue to whisk in the pureed sun-dried tomatoes. Allow for the sauce to thicken.
When the pasta is done, use tongs or a pasta spoon to transfer it to the skillet. Toss the pasta in the sauce with the parmesan cheese until it is fully coated and the cheese has melted.

NOTES

I recommend purchasing an 8.5-ounce jar of sun-dried tomatoes in oil and pureeing the entire jar in a blender. You’ll have extra pureed tomatoes, so save aside any that you don’t need. It’s great on sandwiches or in tomato sauce for a pasta meal later in the week. It’s very tasty when added to soups.