Chicken and Red Pepper Cream Sauce with Pasta
On this day I was really aching to make something really comforting since for various reason I hadn't cooked a decent meal in about two weeks. This satisfied my need to cook, and our palates.
Place a deep skillet over high heat, add about 2-3 T of olive oil. Salt and pepper 2-4 chicken breasts and place them in the hot skillet to sear. Let cook for about 2 minutes per side just to caramelize. The don't need to be cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet and turn it to medium high. Roughly chop one red pepper, and a medium onion. Add those and 2 cloves of finely minced garlic to the skillet. Then add about 1/2 t of each paprika, curry power. mustard seeds, and dried basil. Saute for about 5 minutes until they are starting to brown and onions are becoming translucent. Add about 2 c of chicken broth and let simmer another 5-10 minutes until veggies are very soft.
Start cooking any kind of pasta using the manufacturers instructions. It's good to use one that can really hold the sauce like penne or rigatoni, but we used basil fettuccine since I was in the mood.
When the peppers and onions are soft, pour into a blender and add about 1/4-1/2 c of cream, or half and half, and blend until smooth. Milk works fine, it just won't be as thick and I happened to have cream when I made this. Or you can omit the cream/milk. Pour back in the skillet and let come back up to a simmer. Add the chicken and all the juices that have accumulated back into the pan and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked through, 170 degrees.
Slice the chicken, place over the pasta, and pour the sauce over it. Garnish with mustard seeds and crumbled bacon for a nice crunch. I would've loved to have some nice green herbs like parley or basil for garnish, but not having any on hand, dried had to do. We also put Parmesan, a must with most pasta dishes. Some crusty bread, or good quality croutons are good for soaking up the rest of the juices as well.
KC now asks for this all the time.
Place a deep skillet over high heat, add about 2-3 T of olive oil. Salt and pepper 2-4 chicken breasts and place them in the hot skillet to sear. Let cook for about 2 minutes per side just to caramelize. The don't need to be cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside.Add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet and turn it to medium high. Roughly chop one red pepper, and a medium onion. Add those and 2 cloves of finely minced garlic to the skillet. Then add about 1/2 t of each paprika, curry power. mustard seeds, and dried basil. Saute for about 5 minutes until they are starting to brown and onions are becoming translucent. Add about 2 c of chicken broth and let simmer another 5-10 minutes until veggies are very soft.
Start cooking any kind of pasta using the manufacturers instructions. It's good to use one that can really hold the sauce like penne or rigatoni, but we used basil fettuccine since I was in the mood.
When the peppers and onions are soft, pour into a blender and add about 1/4-1/2 c of cream, or half and half, and blend until smooth. Milk works fine, it just won't be as thick and I happened to have cream when I made this. Or you can omit the cream/milk. Pour back in the skillet and let come back up to a simmer. Add the chicken and all the juices that have accumulated back into the pan and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked through, 170 degrees.
Slice the chicken, place over the pasta, and pour the sauce over it. Garnish with mustard seeds and crumbled bacon for a nice crunch. I would've loved to have some nice green herbs like parley or basil for garnish, but not having any on hand, dried had to do. We also put Parmesan, a must with most pasta dishes. Some crusty bread, or good quality croutons are good for soaking up the rest of the juices as well.
KC now asks for this all the time.
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