-chicken does not belong in pasta
-unless we're talking about macaroni & cheese, neither do most cheeses (other than parmesan or pecorino of course)
-don't put a bunch of crap in it
-it should not be flavored with things Italian people have never heard of
you see, part of the beauty of a great pasta dish is the way the flavors of the pasta itself combine with whatever sauce you've got. that's why wafer thin linguine goes so nicely with the delicate flavors of seafood and a robust and chewy rigatoni goes so well with spicy boldly flavored sausage.
so for these reasons, i believe pasta dishes are at their best when kept extremely simple. unless of course, we're talking about whole wheat pasta. why? because it sucks. no, seriously, it does. it tastes like dirty cardboard and when it's "al dente" you could cut your gums eating it. so in my experience, whenever i've tried to just sub it out for semolina pasta, i was most disappointed.
so when i'm cooking with whole wheat pasta, i'm basically just trying to make a sauce flavorful enough to cover up that taste i don't like very much and all of my very serious pasta rules go out the window. so that's how we've found ourselves here. with a recipe for a dish that wouldn't seem out of place on a TGI Fridays menu (seriously, why would anyone ever want to eat buffalo chicken pasta??).
i know many of you will be skeptical and you probably should be. gouda cheese? cream cheese?? i mean come on! but i made this last night for my roommates and i think they would agree with me when i say, it was a hit.
Whole Wheat Pasta with Roasted Tomato Cream Sauce & Chicken
serves: 6
points plus value per serving: 10
2/3 pound whole wheat pasta (i like penne for this recipe, definitely not spaghetti)
2 cups cherry tomatoes
12.5 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast, cut in to bite sized chunks
5 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced
9oz baby spinach
1 medium sized shallot, finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp cream cheese
1/2 cup low sodium/salt free chicken stock
4oz gouda cheese, cut in to small cubes
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
3 tsp olive oil
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
kosher salt
black pepper
1 tsp paprika
preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.
place cherry tomatoes and 1 tsp olive oil on a baking sheet, season heavily with salt and pepper. roast in oven till tomatoes have burst and reduced in size by about half (approx 30 mins). set aside to use later.
boil large pot of heavily salted water and cook pasta until just-under done. drain and set aside reserving some of the pasta water.
heat large non-stick sauce pan with 1 tsp olive oil over medium high heat. add shallots & garlic and cook until wilted, being careful not to burn garlic. add mushrooms and cook until wilted. season with salt & pepper once mushrooms reach desired consistency. add remaining tsp of olive oil & chicken and brown on all sides. re-season with salt & pepper. add worcestershire sauce and paprika. add roasted tomatoes including any juices left in their roasting pan. reduce heat to medium and add chicken stock and cream cheese. cook over medium heat until cream cheese has melted and combined with all other liquids to create a sauce. add cheese and cook until cheese melts into sauce. add spinach and cook until wilted. check for taste and re-season if necessary.
add cooked pasta to sauce pan and toss to combine. add a couple ladles of pasta water, reduce heat to low and cook pasta and sauce for a couple minutes.
toss in parsley and serve.
so there's my pasta abomination. sacrilegious and delicious! maybe i should see if Chili's wants to buy the recipe off of me...
enjoy!
-V
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