What is better than enjoying a light pasta loaded with vegetables and herbs? A light pasta loaded with fresh vegetables, herbs and tender chicken morsels inspired by your favorite Margherita pizza! Margherita Chicken Pasta brings the familiar flavors of fresh Tomatoes and Basil and combines it with Chicken delivering a light flavorful touch over your favorite pasta.
Cooking with fresh vegetables and herbs has always been a go to for me. Experiencing fresh over canned, jarred or even frozen options, you tend to want to replicate the experience over and over again. The flavors are fresher, brighter and just deliver a better tasting recipe. Hence the Margherita pizza which utilizes fresh sliced Tomatoes, fresh Basil along with fresh Mozzarella. While this recipe does not incorporate Mozzarella due to the use of Parmesan Cheese to garnish, you can absolutely use it. Slice some fresh Mozzarella and lay right over the completed Pasta. Cover the pan with a lid and let the heat melt the cheese right over it! Definitely something worth trying next time.
Margherita Chicken Pasta delivers a light sauce that is created using the ingredients already being used. The juices released from the Cherry Tomatoes infuse the liquid released from the Vegetables and Chicken creating a nice light sauce with the essence of all additional ingredients. The addition of my Latin Style Sofrito, the added liquid from the Pasta water, Olive Oil and Butter gives some richness and consistency which allows the sauce to stick to the Pasta. What makes this recipe even better? It is a light meal delivered to you all in one pan! It’s as simple as that.
Margherita Chicken Pasta
Equipment
- Deep Pan
- Cutting Board
- Knife
- Pot
Ingredients
Protein
- 2 Boneless and Skinless Chicken Breast Cut into bite size pieces.
Produce
- 1 Bell Pepper Sliced into thin strips.
- 1 Yellow Onion Sliced into thin strips.
- 10 Cloves of Garlic
- 12 oz Package of Cherry Tomatoes
- 1/4 cup Fresh Basil sliced into slivers.
Condiment
- 3 tbsp Fresh Sofrito Can substitute for store bought and can be found in the freezer section near the Latin section or on the shelf in similar area.
Dairy
- 3 tsp Butter
Seasonings
- 2 tbsp Garlic Herb Seasoning No Salt.
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tbsp Adobo Seasoning Can be adjusted to more or less depending on your preference.
- 1/2 tsp Cumin
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (Optional)
Oil
- Olive Oil
Pasta
- 8 oz Spaghetti
Instructions
Pasta
- Cook Pasta according to directions on box. When Pasta is done, reserve 2 cups of Pasta water as we will use this for the sauce.
Meanwhile – Chicken
- Heat deep skillet on medium/high drizzling Olive Oil to coat the bottom.
- Add the Butter into the pan.
- Once the Butter is melted, add the Garlic Cloves in and begin sautéing for 1-2 minutes or until becomes fragrant.
- Add the Chicken and seasonings and stir to incorporate the seasonings being sure to coat all of the Chicken pieces. Continue sautéing Chicken for a few minutes to start the cooking process.
- Proceed to add the Peppers, Onions, Tomatoes and Basil and stir into the mixture to allow all the ingredients to cook together.
- Once the Tomatoes begin to soften and blister releasing their juices, add 1 cup of water, Sofrito and a generous drizzle of Olive Oil and stir. Lower the cooking temperature to medium and let it simmer stirring periodically for 5-8 minutes or until the Chicken is thoroughly cooked.
- At this point, your Pasta should be already done. Add the Pasta directly into the pan along with 1 cup of pasta water giving it a good toss to incorporate. The added liquid will help disperse the sauce and work as a thickening agent. At this point, you will need to determine if you want to use the remaining reserved liquid or not. Taste to see if added seasonings are needed.
- Serve immediately being sure to garnish with fresh Basil and Parmesan Cheese.
