You know how a certain flavor can take you back to a time and place? Well for some reason every time I have tarragon I’m zipped back to the 80’s – like I see Cybill Shepherd, Reagonomics and blazers with shoulder pads. I couldn’t quite figure out why until my mom said she used to add tarragon to her lemon chicken – which I remember loving and eating a lot, probably around the same time we were watching Moonlighting, so it’s all kind of making sense.

Anyhoo, I’ve always loved pairing tarragon with white wine in sauces (which also feels kind of 80’s, right?) like this yummy one I served with a tender pork loin. YUM. So I decided to think up a new way to use this flavor combo and landed on pasta – I freaking LOVED IT. Super bold flavors with only a few simple ingredients and a hearty pasta that holds up to the sauce? [insert me doing that thing where you like kiss your hand bunched up by your mouth and then move your hand away – seriously does that have a name?]. You get my drift.

I hope you enjoy!

Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients
16 oz bucatini pasta
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
3/4 cup chardonnay wine
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1 tbs chopped fresh tarragon

Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta as directed on the package – should be al dente.

In the meantime, heat a sauce pan over low-medium heat. Pour the cream into the pan and add salt and pepper. Let the cream warm slightly, about 5-10 minutes. Then add the wine and parmesan cheese and turn the temperature up slightly until you have a slow boil going. Stir the sauce with a whisk constantly until it’s thickened, about another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add the chopped tarragon. Taste and season with any additional salt + pepper if needed.

Remove 1/3 cup of the pasta water before straining the pasta and set aside. Drain the pasta, then add to the sauce pan, tossing the pasta in the cream sauce until well coated. If you feel like the sauce is too thick, slowly add some of the pasta water (I didn’t need to, but sauce can always be finicky).

Finally serve with a sprig of fresh tarragon and some freshly grated parm. Get in my belllaaahhhh!