Every year in the spring I start my basil from seed for harvest later in the summer. Once my basil plants have grown fragrant and full, I spend a few hours carefully trimming off each basil leaf in preparation for my annual pesto party, an afternoon of pesto-making with my mother. After all our ingredients have been pulsed through the food processor, we keep some pesto out for pizzas and pastas that we’ll prepare later in the week, and the rest gets frozen for the year ahead. We typically make enough to last us through to the following harvest, but this year we came up a bit short. As such, I was disappointed the other evening when I had a hankering for linguine with pesto and was missing one half of the equation.
To accommodate my craving I made a quick compromise that consisted of market fresh basil chopped up and added to my tried-and-true white wine cream sauce. Though this sauce is nothing like pesto, it is an equally sating accompaniment to my otherwise boring linguine.
This rich, buttery sauce is great on its own, but when boosted with peppery basil and a dash of red pepper flakes, it goes from simple to superb. I like to use a buttery white wine that has just a hint of citrus like Snoqualmie Vineyards’ Chardonnay. Boasting flavors of oak and orange blossom that culminate with an appropriately creamy finish, it’s as though this wine was made for this sauce.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Makes: 2 ½–3 cups of sauce
Ingredients:
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
5 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup heavy cream (plus ½ cup reserved)
1 cup Snoqualmie Vineyards’ Chardonnay
1 bunch basil, finely chopped
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 package linguine pasta
Fresh grated Parmesan for garnish (optional)
Directions:
In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter and sauté onion for 3 minutes. Add garlic and continuing sautéing until mixture begins to caramelize, another 4 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium and slowly add flour, being sure to stir constantly. Once flour is well incorporated, slowly add cream and wine, whisking constantly until a creamy sauce has formed, about 2 minutes.
Add basil, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Add more to taste if desired. If mixture is too thick, add reserved cream a little bit at a time.
Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring periodically. While the sauce is simmering, cook the linguine. Serve by tossing the sauce together with the drained linguine and top with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.
