Caprese Pasta Salad with Chicken

Here's another one that I made MONTHS ago, and am just now getting around to sharing.

I pulled out this recipe in mid-May for my then-boyfriend (now-fiance!) on his birthday. I swear, he could eat this every day of the week, and twice on Sunday. I would like to pretend that I waited to post it until tomatoes were in season, but to be perfectly honest, I've just been too caught up in the excitement of getting engaged to worry about blogging. Regardless, I'm posting this at precisely the right time of year for you to try it yourselves :-)

My fiance prefers it straight out of the fridge -- the colder, the better. Personally, I prefer it at room temperature, but it's yummy no matter what. With so much fresh basil, mozzerella, and tomatoes, how can you go wrong, right?




Caprese Pasta Salad with Chicken
(adapted from The Cooking Photographer, who got the idea here and added a vinagrette from here)

Lemon Vinaigrette:

2 teaspoons finely grated lemons zest
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
¼ cup lightly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 garlic cloves, chopped
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more if needed to wet pasta

Blend the lemon zest and juice, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper in a blender. With the machine running gradually blend in the oil. Season the vinaigrette to taste with more salt and pepper.

Pasta:1 pound pasta (whatever fun shape you like)

2 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (about 9 ounces total)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 pound diced ripe tomatoes
16 ounce tub fresh mozzarella pearls, drained
Lemon vinaigrette
Lots of fresh basil, chopped (I don't think it's possible to use too much)
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat 1 tablespoon oil reserved from tomatoes in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to skillet and sauté until cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate and cool; do not clean skillet. Cut chicken into 1/2-inch pieces.

Cook the pasta according to the directions, drain, and rinse with cold water. Move the pasta to a large serving bowl and toss together with the rest of the ingredients.

Rigatoni with Chicken Sausage, Tomatoes and Cream

Trader Joe's sells a Sicilian chicken sausage that in the words of Mary Poppins, is practically perfect in every way. I try to keep some in the freezer at all times for a quick weeknight meal. My go-to preparation is to sautee it with some onions and red peppers, mix in a jar of spaghetti sauce, doctor it with whatever herbs I'm in the mood for, and voila' -- dinner!

 Every once in awhile, however, I get bored with that old standby, and decide to branch out. Enter my good friend, the Epicurious app. A quick search yielded this 4-fork, blue-ribbon recipe, which I can now add to the weeknight rotation. It's simple. It uses ingredients I tend to have on hand. And it's absolutely delicious.

For my first attempt, I made as written, heavy cream and all. Next time, I'll try lightening it up with some haf-and-half. I have a feeling it will be just as good.

Rigatoni with Chicken Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cream

(adapted slightly from Epicurous)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound Italian chicken sausage, casings removed
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes with added puree
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1 pound rigatoni (or your favorite pasta)
• 1/2 cup (packed) chopped fresh basil
• Freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and crushed red pepper. Sauté until sausage is no longer pink, breaking up with back of fork, about 5 minutes. Add onion and garlic; sauté until onion is tender and sausage is browned, about 3 minutes longer. Add tomatoes and cream. Reduce heat to low and simmer until sausage mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Return pasta to same pot. Add sausage mixture and toss over medium-low heat until sauce coats pasta, adding reserved cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls if mixture is dry. Transfer pasta to serving dish. Sprinkle with basil. Serve, passing cheese separately.

Pasta with Chicken, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Gorgonzola, and Pine Nuts

At my house, this is what we call "Vintage Smokey." It is, after all, the first meal that I cooked for my boyfriend after we met. And nearly 4 years later, it remains his single most frequent request.

It's another goodie from Epicurious. But at this point, I don't rely very heavily on the recipe. I know I add more of just about everything. More cheese. More prociutto. More sun-dried tomatoes. Who needs measuring cups, right? I just eye-ball it.

As for pasta, the recipe calls for shells or gnocchi, but really, you can use whatever you want. These pictures depict a version using orechiette, which in my opinion, is basically just a more sophisticated version of shells.

The only other change I make is to cut the chicken before I cook it. I am under the illusion that it shortens cooking time, though to be honest, I've never checked.

Pasta with Chicken, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Gorgonzola, and Pine Nuts
(adapted from Epicurious)

• 1/2 to 1 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (2 tablespoons oil reserved)
• 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 9 ounces total)
• 1 pound gnocchi pasta or medium shell pasta
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/3(-ish) cup canned low-salt chicken broth
• 1/3(-ish) cup dry white wine
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (about 2 ounces)
• 1/4 to1/2 cup chopped prosciutto
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Heat 1 tablespoon oil reserved from tomatoes in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to skillet and sauté until cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate and cool; do not clean skillet.

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain pasta; transfer to large bowl.

Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 tablespoon tomato oil in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté until tender, about 1 minute. Add sun-dried tomatoes, chicken, basil, broth, cheese and prosciutto to skillet and bring to boil.

Add sauce to pasta and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with pine nuts and serve.

Lemon-Garlic Pasta with Marscapone and Shrimp

It's not very often that I find myself with an extra tub of mascapone in the fridge, but that's exactly the (random) situation that inspired me to try this dish... And I am SO glad I did.

Healthy, it's not, but oh, so delicious!

I cannot recommend this highly enough. It is easy enough for a weeknight, but fancy enough for guests. I used a a bag of "argentian" shrimp from Trader Joe's -- a variety that claimed to taste like lobster -- and it proved to be a perfect choice. So succulent they melted in your mouth!

I have to thank Jose at Pink Parsley for the recipe. I followed it to a T, except that I subbed penne for liguini (due to my boyfriend's aversion to long pasta).

It makes me proud to pass it on. enjoy!


Lemon-Garlic Pasta with Mascapone and Shrimp
(from Pink Parsley)

• kosher salt
• 8 oz dried pasta
• 1 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tbs butter
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 small shallot, thinly sliced into rings
• 1/8 to 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
• 2 Tbs minced fresh chives
• lemon slices, for serving

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to boil.  Add the linguine and cook until just al dente, 7 to 8 minutes.  Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta wat

Meanwhile, pat the shrimp dry and toss with half the lemon zest, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.

In a large skillet set over medium-high heat, melt the butter until the foaming subsides.  Add the shallot, garlic, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring continuously, until the garlic is just turning brown, about 1 minute.  Add the shrimp and cook about 90 seconds on one side.  Turn the shrimp, reduce the heat to medium, and add the white wine and half the lemon juice.

Bring to a boil and cook about 1 minute.  Add the mascarpone, reserved pasta water, and linguine, and toss to coat.  Cook an addtional 1-2 minutes, or until the pasta is well coated and the sauce has thickened.  Mix in the remaining lemon zest and juice, and the chives.  Season with additional salt and pepper if necessary, and serve immediately with lemon slices.