In my family pasta is its own food group. There is so much you can do with pasta which is why I absolutely love this dish. It is rich, creamy, and oh so delicious. This recipe features sun-dried tomatoes and basil. Both ingredients are popular in Italy and in the Mediterranean region.
Start by heating a skillet over medium high heat with olive oil. Mince garlic and add to pan with sun dried tomato. Cook for about 1 minute or until garlic is fragrant, then remove sun dried tomatoes from the pan.
Season chicken with salt and paprika then slice in to bite size pieces. In the same pan used for the sun dried tomatoes, add sliced chicken and cook for 1-2 minutes per side.
While chicken is cooking boil water in a large pot and add pasta of your choice. For this dish I used vermicelli noodles which happen to be Scotty's favourite these days.
Now that your pasta is cooking add the sun dried tomatoes back to the pot with the chicken. It's time to begin cooking the sauce. Start by adding half and half and mozzarella to the pan with your chicken. Stir ingredients together allowing the sauce to boil. Once sauce starts to boil, lower and allow to simmer. Add red pepper chilli flakes and basil to the sauce and stir until combined.
Remove the pasta from from water and transfer it into the pan with the cream sauce. Grate parmesan in to sauce and stir it all together allowing the sauce to thicken and coat the pasta.
Finish off the pasta with another sprinkle of basil and enjoy!
Recipe
Italian Sun-Dried Tomato & Chicken Pasta
4 Servings 10 Minutes Prep Time 30 Minutes Total
641 Calories Per Serving
Ingredients
3 Garlic Cloves (minced)
1/4 Cup Sun-Dried Tomatoes
2 Large Chicken Breasts
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Paprika
1 Cup Half & Half
1 Cup Mozzarella
1 Tbsp Red Pepper Chilli Flakes
1 Tbsp Basil
1/2 Cup Parmesan
Directions
In a large skillet, sauté garlic and sun-dried tomatoes in 2 tablespoons of olive oil for 1 minute on medium heat or until the garlic is fragrant.
Remove the sun-dried tomatoes from the skillet, leaving the olive oil.
Season chicken on both sides with salt and paprika. Add sliced chicken to skillet and cook on medium high heat for 1-2 minutes on each side.
Cook pasta according to package instructions.
Add sun-dried tomatoes back to skillet with chicken.
To make creamy pasta sauce, add half-and-half and Mozzarella cheese to the skillet, and bring to a gentle boil. Immediately reduce to simmer and cook, constantly stirring, until all cheese melts and creamy sauce forms.
Add cooked pasta to the skillet with the cream sauce, and stir to combine. Add 1 tablespoon of basil, and at least 1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes and 1/2 cup of grated parmesan. Stir to combine.
Season the chicken pasta with salt and more red pepper flakes, to taste, if needed. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes for flavours to combine and enjoy!
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