Basil cream sauce can elevate your favorite pasta, whether it’s ravioli or gnocchi. It can also enhance the flavors of seafood like shrimp, lobster, and crabmeat crabcakes. The dryness of the white wine, creamy texture, and sharpness of the cheese will keep your palate entertained with every bite. The perfect texture and viscosity of the sauce make for a rich and exotic Italian dining experience.
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Basil Cream Sauce recipe was discovered one evening around 15 years ago, I was cooking salmon for my kids, but one of my daughters wanted pasta instead. My other daughter was tired of red sauce, and I knew my wife loved anything with pesto. To please everyone, I decided to create a white sauce with pesto.
Starting with garlic, as per my heritage, I added white wine for flavor, heavy cream for richness, pesto for basil flavor, and Pecorino Romano cheese for thickness and a sharp kick. This is how my Basil Cream sauce was born. I’ve since used this sauce in various seafood and pasta dishes to add a creamy and flavorful element.
Basil Cream Sauce Ingredients:
- ¼ Medium Sized Onion (minced)
- 4 Cloves Fresh Minced Garlic
- ⅓ Cup Dry White Wine
- 2 Cups Heavy Cream
- 1 Cup Finely Grated Pecorino Romano Cheese (Parmesan will do in a pinch)
- 2 tbsp Pesto see: www.chefgiannicooks.com/pesto/ for recipe
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- ½ Juice of Lemon
Basil Cream Sauce Instructions:
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium saucepan.
- Add 1/4 medium-sized minced onion and 4 minced garlic cloves, and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic as it will lose its flavor.
- Add 1/2 cup of white wine, and reduce it by half.
- Add juice from 1/2 Lemon
- Add 2 cups of heavy cream, and reduce it by half.
- Add 2 tablespoons of pesto and stir until completely mixed.
- Slowly introduce 1 cup of Pecorino Romano cheese, stirring throughout the process. Your sauce should thicken at this point. If you are enjoying the sauce with pasta, add it at this point. If your sauce is too thick, add small amounts of your pasta water.
Variations:
If you prefer a sweeter sauce, you can substitute butter for some of the heavy cream. Alternatively, if white wine is unavailable, you can use tomato puree to create a pink sauce with a bit more acidity, but still packed with flavor.
By adding more garlic and some shrimp, you can transform the sauce into a shrimp scampi. The amount of garlic you use depends on your preference for flavor. Generally, a couple more cloves at the beginning of the recipe should suffice. Also, any type of stuffed Shellfish will work alongside. Shrimp or lobster stuffed with crabmeat or any type of fish with a crabmeat topping will be perfectly paired with this sauce.
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Some chefs use roux to thicken their cream sauce, but I’ve found that unnecessary. I simply let the sauce simmer and reduce to achieve the desired texture.
My favorite dish to pair with this sauce is ravioli, particularly freshly made ravioli filled with shellfish such as lobster or crabmeat. I like to add grilled or steamed vegetables to complete the dish fit for royalty.
Ingredients
- ¼ Medium Sized Onion (minced)
- 4 Cloves Fresh Minced Garlic
- ⅓ Cup Dry White Wine
- 2 Cups Heavy Cream
- 1 Cup Finely Grated Pecorino Romano Cheese (Parmesan will do in a pinch)
- 2 tbsp Pesto see: www.chefgiannicooks.com/pesto/ for recipe
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- ½ Juice of Lemon
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium saucepan.
- Add 1/4 medium-sized minced onion and 4 minced garlic cloves, and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic as it will lose its flavor.
- Add 1/2 cup of white wine, and reduce it by half.
- Add juice from 1/2 Lemon
- Add 2 cups of heavy cream, and reduce it by half.
- Add 2 tablespoons of pesto and stir until completely mixed.
- Slowly introduce 1 cup of Pecorino Romano cheese, stirring throughout the process. Your sauce should thicken at this point. If you are enjoying the sauce with pasta, add it at this point. If your sauce is too thick, add small amounts of your pasta water.
