Pasta with Sun-dried Tomatoes & Chicken Breast in Creamy Mozzarella Sauce

Tuesday dinner for us is special; special because, I do not have to worry about his next day’s lunch. So that gives me the liberty to cook the deadliest combination dinner of the week – the lazy, comfort and sinful kind! Mostly it is Pizza on Tuesday night, but occasionally we give pasta or noodle a chance.

In the last week I went terribly wrong with the grocery shopping and ended up with an overload of different cuts of chicken in my freezer! I’ve been battling hard to use it up, but as fate would have it, the man of the house was down with upset stomach and there I lost the battle. This week, once again I’ve put my armour on and am determined to use it all up; so be prepared for a couple of “chicken” posts very soon! Moreover, it has been a while since I tried pasta and surprisingly I had all necessary ingredients for that creamy dreamy kind. Hence, pasta with sun-dried tomatoes & chicken breast in creamy mozzarella sauce!

I love cooking pasta as much as I enjoy eating it and preparing the sauce – I find it to be the most exciting part. I enjoy mixing and matching flavours, and the punch that garlic and some freshly crushed pepper can render nothing else can. Add a few leaves of fresh basil or mint; there you take the sauce a notch up! A bowlful of gooey, saucy pasta is sure to give your favourite comfort food a tough competition.

The way sun-dried tomatoes can transform a dish is just beyond words can describe. We keep stock of a bottle always and use it generously in pizzas. However, this is the first time I have tried using it in pasta and I now realize how much of a fool I’ve been! Sun-dried tomatoes are magical, period!

I have a thing for Fusilli pasta and so I often buy that as opposed to any other variety. You can use any dried pasta variety for this recipe and the sauce can go well with fresh pasta too.

YOU NEED: 

Olive oil, 1 tbsp

Garlic, 5-6 cloves, sliced and crushed

Freshly crushed pepper, 1 tsp

Chicken breast, 1, cut into smaller pieces

Paprika, 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Sun-dried tomatoes, about half a jar

Half and half, 1 cup

Mozzarella cheese, 1 cup grated

Basil/mint/cilantro/Italian herbs – any of these

Fusilli pasta, 150-160 grams (or any variety dry pasta)

Water to cook pasta 

HOW TO: 

In a large pot boil enough water with a teaspoon of olive oil and salt to taste. Once the water reaches rolling boil, tip in pasta and cook as per package instructions. Drain and keep aside. 

In another large pan, heat olive oil. Add crushed garlic and pepper, along with chicken breast coated with paprika and sun-dried tomatoes. In medium heat char the sun-dried tomatoes and once done, remove from the pan and keep aside. Continue to cook the chicken until done.

Now add half and half, and mozzarella cheese. Once the cream boils simmer and let the cheese melt completely. Add the herbs and adjust seasoning. If the sauce turns too thick, you could add some cooked pasta liquid later on. Toss paste in the sauce, cut and add the sun-dried tomatoes, give it all a mix, heat through and switch off.

Serve warm and bon appetite!