
It’s Spring Break time. My house is full of 8 hungry college students who arrived famished from a road trip. I decided to use the Spinach Basil Pesto http://kolpona.com/2012/03/17/spinach-basil-pesto/ I just put together to come up with a pasta dish. It turned out great if the empty plates were any indication.
Here’s the recipe:
Spinach Chicken Alfredo
16 oz of Fettuccine
3 whole cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
4 tablespoons of Spinach Basil Pesto (see recipe)
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons of flour
1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1 1/2 cups of cooked chicken cut into pieces
large handful of fresh Spinach leaves
1 pint of Heavy Cream
2 cups of whole milk
1 cup of Parmiaggiano Reggiano Cheese
1/2 cup of Mozzarella cheese
In a 5 quart pan boil water with 5- 6 tablespoons of salt (should be like sea water) and cook pasta for about 8 minutes. In the mean time, in a large skillet heat olive oil and butter. Add salt, fresh cracked pepper and minced garlic and sauté about a minute until garlic releases its fragrance. Add spinach pesto and stir for about 30 seconds. Add flour to the mixture and cook for about a minute to get the starchy flour smell out. Slowly begin to add heavy cream and whole milk and stir until mixture begins to thicken. This should take about 3-4 minutes. When mixture has thickened nicely, add parmiaggiano Reggiano and mozzarella and stir until melted and incorporated into a smooth sauce. Add chicken to the mixture. Add in cooked pasta and toss. Serve warm with fresh grated cheese on top.