Sun Dried Tomato Alfredo Sauce with Mushrooms

Normally, alfredo sauce tastes so good because it's 90% heavy cream, mixed with parmesan cheese, butter

and sometimes an egg.  All heavy 'fat = flavor' items, which when combines, produce the rich and creamy alfredo sauce.  Personally, I love alfredo sauce.  But I try to make mine slightly more healthy, once again relying on natural flavors, over heavy fat and rich ingredients.

With alfredo sauce, it's tough.  But this helps:

Sun dried tomatoes.  Slightly bitter and chewy.  They're usually thrown in some pasta dish as an after thought to add a splash of red color and tomato 'essence'.  Do we really like them?  It's tough to say, but in my opinion, they can come across as somewhat abrasive and unpalatable.   In reality, sun dried are pure tomato flavor.  They need to be cooked/processed correctly.  Simmered in chicken stock and pureed, they become your secret weapon.  Not only is it an explosion of tomato flavor, but it's also a great thickener.  You won't need to use as much cream, cheese or any butter, and it will boost the flavor.  Naturally.   

Sun Dried Tomato Alfredo Sauce with portabello mushrooms

Prep time:  5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Yield:  3 portions

Ingredients:

10 sun dried tomato halves, drained of oil
1 cup heavy cream
2 large portabello mushroom caps, gills cleans, thin sliced
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
kosher salt
cracked black pepper
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan reggiano cheese

Method:

In a small sauce pot, bring the chicken stock to a boil.  Add the sun dried tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes.  Turn heat off and let stand for another 5 minutes.  Transfer the whole thing to a blender and puree until smooth.

In a saute pan, begin sauteing the mushrooms in the oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the heavy cream and bring to a low boil.  Add the tomato puree and continue simmering until slightly thick.  Stir in the cheese. You sauce is now ready.

Best served with penne and grilled chicken.

Enjoy.