Some nights I crave a good pasta dish, and more often than not, I prefer to whip something up myself. This dish has the indulgent feel of a restaurant style pasta dish with a lot less guilt. With only 2 tablespoons of cream in the sauce for 4 servings, this is the perfect, reduced guilt Italian dish! Also utilizing everything I already had in the pantry, this requires very little planning ahead.
Ingredients:
- 2 chicken breasts, seasoned with garlic salt and pepper
- 2 large cloves of garlic
- 1 onion
- 1 tsp dried basil
- ¼ tsp chili flakes
- 1 8 oz package of broccolini, (stems and florets chopped)
- 5 oz cherry tomatoes (I use san marzano)
- 1 cup white wine
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbs heavy cream
- ½ cup grated toscono cheese ( I like this cheese, but parmesan also works great)
- ½ lb fettuccine pasta
- Olive oil for sautéing
Start off by sautéing the chicken breasts in some olive oil in a heavy bottom pan until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside in heatproof bowl. Add a little more oil, then add the onions into the same pan, sautéing until golden brown. Add in basil, chili flakes and garlic, cooking for 3 more minutes.
Roughly chop the tomatoes, and add to the pan, cooking for 2 minutes until tender. Add in the wine and any juices that have accumulated in the chicken bowl, scrapping all of the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add in the salt, and simmer for 5 minutes until sauce is slightly reduced.
Cook the pasta per package instructions until al dente, about 95% of the way cooked. Chop the chicken into bite sized pieces, and add that along with the chopped broccolini to the pot, stirring to combine everything.
Turn heat to low, and stir in the cream, making sure everything is well incorporated. Next, add in the pasta, finishing its cooking inside the sauce. Add in ½ cup grated cheese, mixing well to get all of the pasta coated with sauce and cheese. Serve with extra cheese and fresh black pepper. Enjoy!