How to Make a Tarragon Cream Sauce with Tomatoes

Are you looking to elevate your meals with a rich and refreshing sauce? This tomato tarragon cream sauce recipe perfectly adds to your culinary repertoire.

Blending the sweetness of ripe tomatoes with the subtle anise flavor of fresh tarragon, this sauce brings a unique twist to classic cream-based sauces. It's versatile, pairing beautifully with pasta, seafood, chicken, or roasted vegetables. Combining creamy texture and fragrant herbs creates a well-balanced sauce that feels indulgent yet light.

Perfect for home cooks of all skill levels, this recipe is simple and doesn’t require complicated ingredients. With just a few steps and some essential pantry items, you’ll quickly have a restaurant-quality sauce ready.

Whether you want to impress dinner guests or add flavor to a weeknight meal, this tomato tarragon cream sauce is a go-to option. Its velvety texture and vibrant taste will bring new life to any dish. Let’s explore how to make this delicious sauce and how you can use it to enhance your cooking!

Tarragon

Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) is a perennial herb widely used in culinary applications, particularly in French cuisine. It is a sunflower family member (Asteraceae) and is known for its distinctively aromatic leaves. Tarragon has a slightly sweet and anise-like flavor, adding a unique and subtle taste to dishes.

When used in cooking, tarragon is often added towards the end of the process or used as a garnish to preserve its delicate flavor. The herb complements a variety of dishes and adds a touch of sophistication to many culinary creations.

Crème Fraîche

Crème fraîche is a rich, creamy dairy product with a velvety texture and subtle tangy flavor. Originating from France, its name translates to "fresh cream." It is often compared to sour cream or heavy cream; crème fraîche has a distinct taste and texture that sets it apart.

Made from heavy cream cultured with bacteria, crème fraîche has a thicker consistency and higher fat content than sour cream. This luxurious dairy product is versatile in sweet and savory dishes, adding a creamy richness and a hint of acidity.

In cooking, crème fraîche is prized for enhancing sauces, soups, and dressings without curdling, thanks to its higher fat content and stable nature when heated. It can also be used as a topping for desserts, fresh fruit, or baked goods, offering a luscious and indulgent finish.

Shallots

Shallots are a type of onion in the Allium family, including garlic, onions, and leeks. They have a milder and sweeter flavor than regular onions, making them popular in various culinary dishes. Shallots are characterized by their small size, elongated shape, and thin, coppery-brown papery skin.

While shallots are similar to onions, they provide a distinct flavor that many chefs appreciate. They add a layer of complexity to dishes without overwhelming other ingredients. Whether you're sautéing, caramelizing, or using them in a fresh preparation, shallots can be a valuable addition to your culinary repertoire.

Other Ways to Serve This Sauce

This sauce is perfect for lobster ravioli and would work tremendously well with other ingredients. If you didn't have ravioli but just a bag of shrimp in the freezer, you could make this sauce and serve it with pasta or rice.

Tarragon and chicken also work exceptionally well together, so you could serve this on top of pan-sauteed chicken breasts. I could also see it served with roasted white fish, like sea bass or flounder.

How about tarragon cream sauce with roasted vegetables? Or on top of a grilled steak or roasted pork loin?

and adapt it to some of your favorite ingredients. A tablespoon of Dijon mustard would really give this sauce some extra flavor. We used creme fraiche in this recipe, but you could substitute it with sour cream, cream, or half and half.

Have fun with this basic sauce and come up with something unique of your own.

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