Strawberry Sour Cream Pasta (Printable)

A creamy, sweet-tangy strawberry sauce blended with sour cream and pasta for a unique summer dish.

# What You Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 12 oz farfalle or penne pasta
02 - 1 tbsp salt (for boiling water)

→ Strawberry Sauce

03 - 2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
04 - 2 tbsp granulated sugar
05 - 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
06 - 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
07 - 1/4 tsp salt
08 - 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

→ Creamy Component

09 - 3/4 cup sour cream, full-fat preferred

→ Garnish

10 - 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
11 - Optional: 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
12 - Optional: Extra sliced strawberries

# Directions:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente according to package instructions. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water, drain pasta, and set aside.
02 - Combine strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes until strawberries soften but retain some texture.
03 - Remove strawberry mixture from heat and allow to cool for 2 to 3 minutes. Gently fold in sour cream until sauce is smooth and uniformly pink. Adjust seasoning as needed.
04 - Add drained pasta to the saucepan with strawberry-sour cream sauce. Toss gently to coat, adding reserved pasta water one tablespoon at a time to loosen the sauce if necessary.
05 - Portion pasta onto plates. Garnish with fresh basil, and optionally toasted pine nuts and extra sliced strawberries. Serve immediately.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It tastes like you spent hours on it when you really just needed 25 minutes and a moment of inspired improvisation.
  • The strawberry-sour cream combination is tangy enough to feel sophisticated but creamy enough to feel like a hug on a plate.
  • It's vegetarian, naturally elegant for guests, and different enough that people remember eating it.
02 -
  • Remove the strawberry sauce from heat before adding sour cream, or the cream will curdle and you'll end up with grainy, sad sauce instead of the silky pink dream you're after.
  • Don't let this pasta sit; it only gets better for about five minutes and then starts to seize up, so have your plates ready before you drain the pasta.
03 -
  • Reserve your pasta water before draining; starchy water is what transforms a separate, clumpy sauce into something silky and cohesive, so don't skip this step.
  • Taste the sauce before plating and adjust the balance—sometimes berries are more tart, sometimes less, so trust your palate over the recipe.
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