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Category: Pasta

Pasta with Chicken, Lemon Asparagus

Pasta with Chicken, Lemon Asparagus

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Yield: 2 Servings

Adapted from: Dinner at the Zoo

This recipe for lemon asparagus pasta combines tender asparagus and grilled chicken with pasta in a lemon cream sauce.

  • 12oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
  • 9-12oz asparagus, ends removed, cut into pieces
  • 6oz of linguine pasta (spaghetti or fettuccine will also work)
  • ⅓cup heavy cream
  • 1TBS of butter
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • ½TBS lemon zest
  • ½TBS lemon juice
  • ¼cup finely shredded parmesan cheese

Optional garnishes:

  • Lemon slices and chopped parsley

Cook the pasta in salted water according to package instructions. Add the asparagus to the pot during the last 3 minutes of cooking time.

Reserve ½ cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain the remaining water.

While the pasta is cooking, slice the chicken into bite-sized pieces and season with salt and pepper. Heat a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add some olive oil and the chicken slices. Sauté until cooked through.

In small pot, combine the heavy cream, butter and ¼ tsp salt and pinch of pepper over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, until thick enough to coat a spoon, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest and juice.

Place the pasta and asparagus back into the pot you cooked it in along with the chicken.

Pour the cream sauce over the pasta mixture and toss to coat evenly, adding pasta water if needed to thin the sauce.

Stir in the parmesan cheese.

Taste and adjust seasoning.

Garnish with chopped parsley and lemon slices if desired.

Pasta with Chicken, Spinach, and Artichoke

Pasta with Chicken, Spinach, and Artichoke

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Yield: 2 Servings

Adapted from: Delish

A play on spinach artichoke dip turned into a pasta dish with chicken.

Note: First, I really liked this. Second, we think it could be improved some. The sauce was on the thick side. A bit more pasta water could have thinned it, but there could also be more sauce, so increase the sauce ingredients next time. I also used heavy cream instead of milk. But I thought I added enough water to fix that. The spinach is cooked first, but it should have been last, or cooked right in the sauce before the final mix.

  • 6oz rigatoni or similar pasta
  • 1TBS extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1cloves garlic, minced
  • 2cups baby spinach
  • 115-oz can artichoke hearts, quartered
  • 12oz boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • salt & black pepper
  • 2TBS butter
  • 1TBS AP flour
  • ½-1cup chicken broth
  • ½-1cup milk (or cream)
  • ½cup shredded mozzarella
  • ¼cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish


Prep:

Tenderize chicken breast with a jacquard, then slice into bite sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook pasta:

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until al dente.

Reserve ½ cup pasta water. Drain the remaining water.

Cook chicken:
In a large skillet over medium heat, heat 1 TBS oil. Add garlic and chicken to skillet. Cook until chicken is golden and nearly cooked through. Remove to bowl.

Finish:
To skillet, add butter and let melt. Add flour and whisk until golden, 1 minute, then add broth, milk or cream, mozzarella and Parmesan. Stir in artichokes. Season with salt and pepper. 

Add in the spinach and cook until spinach is wilted, 2 minutes.

Add cooked pasta to skillet and toss with sauce until coated. Return chicken to the skillet and toss to combine. Add reserved pasta water to obtain desired consistency.

Remove to serving bowl and serve.

Jumbo Stuffed Shells

Jumbo Stuffed Shells

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Yield: 14

Billy Parisi

Video

These amazing stuffed shells recipe is baked in a classic tomato and white sauce with delicious meat and ricotta cheese filling. Prep Time 1 hour, Cook Time: 90 min.

My first batch made at least 40. I froze half on a sheet tray and then they will go in a freezer bag.

  • 12oz box of jumbo shells
  • 2TBS olive oil
  • 1peeled small diced yellow onion
  • 2finely minced cloves of garlic
  • 8oz loose Italian sausage
  • 8oz ground beef 85/15
  • 5oz baby spinach, roughly chopped
  • 2TBS chopped fresh basil
  • 1lb fresh mozzarella, diced small (1/4-inch)
  • 16oz whole milk ricotta cheese
  • 1½cups grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1large egg
  • 24-32oz tomato sauce
  • 1batch béchamel sauce, about 1 qt (see below)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Make the béchamel sauce (below).

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Boil the shells until al dente in a large pot of boiling salted water, which takes about 8-9 minutes while gently stirring. Remove the shells from the water, chill in an ice bath and then spread out on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and set to the side.

Add the olive oil to a large rondeau pot over medium heat and cook the onions until lightly browned, which takes about 10 minutes. Next add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Add in the Italian sausage and ground beef and cook until lightly browned and cooked through. Make sure to cut it down into small pieces.

Mix in the baby spinach just until wilted and then transfer the mixture to a large plate and slightly spread everything out and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Once cool transfer to a large bowl along with the basil, ½ the amount of small, diced mozzarella, ricotta, 1 cup of Parmesan cheese, large egg, and salt and pepper, and mix until completely combined.

Using a small spoon or a piping bag stuffed with the meat and cheese filling, stuff each shell until they are completely full. I was able to get 28 stuffed shells.

Evenly pour the tomato sauce into the bottom of a 13×9 casserole dish until it is coated.

Next, randomly pour ¾ of the béchamel sauce on top of the tomato sauce. See Video.

Line up as many stuffed shells as possible over the sauces. You may need to cook some in a separate dish if they all do not fit.

Sprinkle on remaining small, diced mozzarella and ½ cup of grated Parmesan all over the top and bake at 425° for 25-30 minutes or until browned on top.

Garnish with optional chopped parsley or basil.

Make-ahead: This recipe is meant to be eaten as soon as it’s done cooking. You can however keep it warm covered in the oven at 200°F for up to 30 minutes before cooking. In addition, if you want to prepare everything, you can assemble everything if it’s cold and chilled and then refrigerate covered 1 day before baking and serving. Add 10 minutes to your baking time since everything will be cold going into the oven.

How to store: Cover and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This will freeze covered for up to 3 months. You can freeze in the sauces or separate.

How to reheat: Add the number of stuffed shells with sauce to a saucepan and cover with foil and heat at 350°F in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until hot.

It is ok to have leftover shell pasta as some of them will tear in the cooking and cooling process. Feel free to discard or keep the leftovers after stuffing.

I had 8 shells that did not fit into the casserole dish, so I baked them in a small separate dish.

Béchamel Sauce

Yield: 1 batch
Billy Parisi

Learn how to make a classic béchamel sauce that is incredibly simple to prepare and excellent for sauces and pasta dishes. 25 minutes.

  • 1quart of whole milk
  • 2ounces unsalted butter or 4 TBS
  • 2ounces all-purpose flour or 6 TBS
  • ¼onion peeled but left intact
  • 1bay leaf
  • 1clove
  • pinch of ground nutmeg
  • salt and ground white pepper to taste

Add the milk to a medium-size saucepot over low heat until it scalds, see note.

Make a roux from the butter and flour and stir it in to the warm milk until it is completely mixed in and smooth and bring just to a boil to thicken and then turn the heat back down to low.

Next, make a 1” slit into the top of the onion and push the bay leaf into the slice and press the clove into the onion as well and then place the entire thing right into the bechamel sauce and cook for 15 minutes to infuse the flavor.

Add in the nutmeg, salt, and pepper and mix in with a spoon.

Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer like a chinois or through some cheesecloth in a regular strainer. The sauce should be silky smooth.

Chef notes:

Make ahead: You can make this sauce up to 2 days ahead of time.

How to store: Keep it covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Do not freeze the sauce as it will break when thawing it.

How to reheat: Simply place your desired amount into a small sauce pan and whisk over low heat until thick.

You’ll know it’s scalded if you tilt the pan back to yourself and see bubbles clinging to the bottom of the pan but not sticking to it.

If the sauce gets too thick when making it or reheating it, simply add a ¼ cup of hot milk at a time until it is to a thinner consistency.

You must wait for the sauce to boil after mixing in the roux for it to thicken, other wide it will remain on the thinner side.

Capellini Aglio E Olio

Capellini Aglio E Olio

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Via Toscana Copycat

Roasted garlic, fresh Roma Tomato, Basil, extra-virgin Olive Oil

Yield: 2

Via Toscana ()
  • ½head roasted garlic
  • 8oz capellini
  • 4TBS olive oil
  • 1-2Roma tomatoes, seeded & diced
  • basil, julienned

Optional

  • 110-12 oz chicken breast, boneless, skinless
  • olive oil as needed.
  • salt & pepper
  • parmesan cheese


Cook pasta:
Heat 3-4 quarts water to boiling in a large pot. Season generously with salt when boiling.
Add and cook capellini al dente.
Reserve 1 cup cooking water and drain.

Chicken:
While capellini is cooking, season and sauté the chicken breast in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Remove to plate, covered lightly in foil.

Sauce & finish:
Heat 2 TBS olive oil in the sauté pan over medium heat and add roasted garlic cloves.
Mash garlic and heat for 30 seconds.
Add drained capellini and mix well.
Add 2 TBS reserved cooking water.
Cook and mix well to create an emulsion.
Add diced Roma tomato and mix.
Slice chicken breast on an angle and arrange on top of pasta.
Serve.

Pasta Seafood DiScottio

Pasta Seafood DiScottio

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Yield: 2 Servings (can be doubled)
Scott Nowell

Pasta Jay’s in Boulder serves a dish called Seafood DiStefano on their Friday night specials list. Shrimp, crab and scallops, served over linguine with white clam sauce.
This is my version, modified to be a one-pot dish. You can change the seafood items to include some fish, lobster, etc. Be sure to add them in the appropriate order to get them cooked through.
Also note that the ingredients have been adjusted to serve two. Double, triple, etc. as needed. This dish cooks very quick, so it is important to cook the pasta and any optional vegetables first.

21-Apr-20, 22-Aug-20, 30-Oct-24

Pasta:

  • 4-6oz linguine, fettuccine, spaghetti
  • 1medium head of broccoli or other green vegetable (optional)

Aromatics:

  • 1TBS olive oil
  • 1TBS butter
  • ¼cup minced or thinly sliced garlic
  • ¼cup red onion, chopped, minced or sliced
  • 2tsp flour
  • pinch of red pepper flakes

Sauce:

  • ½cup white wine
  • ½cup pasta cooking water
  • 1generous tsp chicken Better Than Bouillon

Seafood/Finish:

  • 110 oz can of baby clams, NOT drained
  • 6peeled and deveined shrimp (16/20 or 21/25)
  • 6sea scallops
  • 6oz lump crab meat
  • ¼cup Parmesan cheese, shredded/grated
  • 1TBS fresh chopped parsley


Pasta: Add the pasta to one gallon of boiling salted water and cook to barely al dente. Reserve ½ cup pasta cooking water. Remove pasta to oiled bowl and set aside. 

Optional Green Vegetable: If adding and a green vegetable like broccoli, cook it to al dente in the pasta water. Drain and remove to the bowl with the pasta. Return pasta pot to medium high heat.

Aromatics: In the pasta pan add 1 TBS olive oil and 1 TBS butter over med high heat until butter melted. Add ¼ cup garlic and ¼ cup red onion and sauté for a minute. Sprinkle over about 2 tsp of flour. Stir to tighten. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes.

Sauce: To the aromatics, add ½ cup white wine, reserved ½ cup of pasta cooking water, generous teaspoon of Chicken Better Than Bouillon and stir to dissolve Better Than Bouillon. Boil for a few minutes until reduced to about ¾ cup. Add the undrained can of baby clams, scallops, shrimp, crab and/or other seafood as desired. Stir and cook for a couple of minutes until the shrimp and scallops are almost cooked.

Finish: Return the cooked pasta and optional green vegetable to the pot. Stir to mix well and coat pasta with sauce. Add the Parmesan and stir. Mix in 1 TBS fresh chopped parsley. Check and adjust seasoning.

Plate, top with additional parsley and Parmesan and serve.

Nowell Spaghetti Sauce

Nowell Spaghetti Sauce

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Yield: 4-6 servings
Loosely based on a recipe in the Seven Seas Nantucket Cookbook.

This is a moving target recipe if there ever was one. This is a quick cooking sauce and does not need long simmering.  Once the sauce is mixed and simmering, the sauce will be done in the time it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta.

Meat:

  • 4-6Italian sausages, sweet, mild, hot or combination (optional)
  • 1lb ground beef
  • 8oz ground pork or ground sausage (optional)

Veg:

  • 2TBS Olive oil
  • 1small or medium onion chopped fine
  • 1green bell pepper, small dice (optional)
  • 2cloves garlic minced
  • 1green bell pepper, diced
  • 8oz mushrooms, sliced or quartered (optional)

For sauce:

  • 114-oz can tomato sauce
  • 114-oz can diced tomatoes
  • 16-oz can tomato paste (optional)
  • 16-oz can water (paste can) (optional)

Seasonings:

  • 1tsp basil
  • 1tsp oregano
  • 1tsp salt
  • 1tsp sugar
  • ¼ to ½tsp fresh ground black pepper


For sausage: If adding the optional sausage, place them in a sauté pan over medium high heat with a cup of water. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to simmer. Turn over after 6 minutes, cover and cook for another 6 minutes. Pour water into a glass measuring cup. Return to stove, and sauté until browned on all sides 4-8 minutes. Set aside.

For mushrooms: If adding the optional mushrooms, place them and a TBS of olive oil to the sauté pan over medium heat. Cook for 4-8 minutes, until water evaporates and mushrooms brown. Set aside.

Sweat vegetables: In a 2-qt sauce pan, heat 1 TBS olive oil and sweat (see Terms) onion and optional green pepper over medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes until soft and translucent but not browned. Add garlic, sauté 30 seconds more. Remove to a small bowl.

For ground beef: Carefully remove any left over garlic, otherwise it will burn and get bitter. Turn heat up to medium-high. Add ground beef and brown until mostly cooked through. Reduce heat to medium.

For sauce: Return onion and garlic to pan. Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and optional paste. Fill paste can with tap or sausage water and add. Add all seasonings and 1 TBS olive oil. Stir carefully. If using, add sausage to pan. Cover, bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low and simmer while pasta cooks.

Options:

Go meatless with no beef or sausage. Ha ha ha.
Replace onion with 1 TBS Minced onion flakes.
Replace garlic with ½ tsp garlic powder (only if desperate).
Adjust seasonings. I always uses a heaping tsp of basil and oregano based on an eye-ball guess.