Chicken breast – 300 gms, boneless & skinless, cut into thin strips of about 1 inch length
Fresh spinach – 200 gms
Garlic – 5 to 6 cloves, minced
Butter – 4 tbsp
Fresh cream – 200 ml
Grated Parmesan cheese – ⅓ cup
Salt and black pepper to taste
Cherry tomatoes – 200 gms
Balsamic vinegar – 2 tbsp
Sugar – ½ tsp
Instructions
First we will roast the cherry tomatoes. Preheat your oven to 180 C / 350 F. Cut each cherry tomato into half and place them on a roasting sheet keeping the cut side up. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar all over the tomatoes making sure each one gets their share, you may need to be a little generous. Sprinkle the sugar on top.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Take them out, flip each one over and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until the tomatoes are mushy and charred/smoked on the edges. Set them aside until further use. (If you have sundried tomatoes handy, you can skip these 2 steps entirely and you will also not need balsamic vinegar and sugar.)
Cook the pasta as per the packet instructions until they are al-dente. Drain and rinse in cold water. Keep it in a colander to let the water drip off.
Heat half of the butter in a skillet or stock pot. Add the minced garlic and sauté it for few seconds until fragrant.
Next goes the chicken strips, season with salt and pepper and sauté them until golden brown and cooked through. This would take about 6 to 8 minutes on medium-low flame.
Then add the remaining butter and once it melts, pour in the cream. Let the cream come to a simmer and thickens little bit.
Then add the spinach leaves and let them wilt. Spinach cooks down way too much, so don’t be afraid to add as much spinach as you want.
Once the spinach leaves have wilted down, add the roasted tomatoes (or the sundried tomatoes) and give a good mix. The sauce is ready. Check and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Now it’s time to combine the pasta with the awesome sauce. Pour the sauce into the pasta pot and give a good mix using a tong.
Serve the creamy chicken pasta warm with a good sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese! Enjoy!
Recipe by Flavor Quotient at http://www.flavorquotient.com/2016/10/creamy-spinach-chicken-pasta/