Penne with Chicken & Peas in a Cream Sauce
Servings: 2 people
Ingredients
- ½ pound penne pasta cooked to al dente
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 slices red onion diced
- ½ red bell pepper finely diced (Ricco suggested using roasted red peppers for more flavor and adding them toward the end of the recipe)
- ¼ cup white wine or brandy
- 1 chicken breast cut up into pieces (cooked or uncooked)
- 1 cup half and half
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
- 1 cup frozen peas
- Parmigiano cheese grated
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large saucepan over medium heat until hot. Add the oil and butter.
- When hot but not smoking, add the onion and diced pepper. Sauté until the onion is translucent.
- Deglaze the pan with the white wine or brandy and continue cooking until most of the wine has cooked off. This will add another layer of flavor.
- Season the already cut up cooked chicken with some freshly ground pepper and add it to the pan to reheat for about one minute.
- Add the half and half, nutmeg, parsley and peas being sure to mix together with a wooden spoon. Raise the heat to medium-high but as soon as the half and half comes to a boil, lower the heat to medium or medium-low and reduce the sauce to desired consistency (thickness).
- When the sauce is just the way you like it, add some freshly grated cheese or try the crumbled up Roquefort.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Drain the pasta but reserve a few tablespoons of the pasta water to add to the sauce if the sauce appears to be too thick. This thins out the sauce while giving it a little flavor from the cooked pasta.
- Add the pasta to the saucepan; toss well and serve.