Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Ski Country Pasta

I have no idea where the name comes from, but I found the basic recipe here, and made a few changes.

1/2 c. sliced almonds
1/2 lb. sliced bacon
2 chicken breasts, cubed
4 c. penne pasta (or something else of similar size)
2-4 cloves garlic
7-8 oz. fresh spinach, chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
5 Tbsp. Balsamic vinegar
Splash of white wine
1 c. grated Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 c. fresh chopped basil

1. Toast almonds over medium heat for about 4 minutes. Set aside.

2.
Cook bacon and chicken until done, and remove from pan and crumble bacon. Save bacon fat.

3. Cook pasta al dente (until it's done) in salted water.

4. Discard all but 6 Tbsp. bacon fat. Heat remaining bacon fat, and add garlic and chopped spinach. Stir over medium heat until tender (about a minute).

5. Whisk mustard, vinegar, and wine together in large bowl, and then mix in drained pasta, cheese, cooked spinach mixture, bacon, and basil. Serve warm, topped with toasted almonds.

3 comments:

Margaret Mary said...

A couple questions: Did you cook the chicken and bacon together? Was it 4 cups of raw pasta or 4 cups cooked?

Gianna said...

1) I did, to save a pan, but I don't know that I'd recommend it. Cooking one, then the other, would be fine, but the chicken needs to be moved around and the bacon is better left undisturbed (IMO).

2) I used about half a pound radiatore; I'm not sure exactly what that comes out to.

Margaret Mary said...

1) I did and my chicken was done way before the bacon was so I picked it all out and continued to cook the bacon. Possible, but not recommended. I will say that cooking them together gave the chicken an excellent flavor.
2) I measured 4 cups of dried penne and it was almost the whole box so I put some back. The three of us would have way too many leftovers!

Everyone liked it though! Thanks.