My Own Twist

I decided to put my own spin on the lemon shrimp pasta I posted last month.  This one is Gorgonzola Chicken Pasta.  I used rigatoni instead of linguine, chicken instead of shrimp, ricotta instead of mascarpone and a generous portion of Gorgonzola melting throughout the sauce.  I also tossed in spinach when I added in the pasta.  The reason I chose spinach is because I had a large container of it in the fridge that will go bad in about a day.  So you don't have to use spinach you can get rid of any veggies you have in the fridge, broccoli, red pepper or asparagus would be just as good.  Also, if you don't what to use ricotta you could substitute cream cheese or even straight cream.  I chose a light ricotta because I didn't want to add something with to much flavor so that the Gorgonzola really comes through.

I'll make this again! Like the lemon shrimp pasta it was a delicious and quick weeknight dinner.  The hubby commented that I've done it once again.  It's funny because he says something like that after almost every meal.  Like he's surprised that I pulled it off or he thought I was going to screw up dinner somewhere along the way.  Oh well, I guess I should be happy he says anything at all.

Gorgonzola Chicken Pasta

Ingredients

• 1 lb rigatoni
• ½ lb chicken, 1 large breast cut into strips
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced (1 tbsp)
• ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• ½ cup white wine
• ¾ cup light ricotta
• 150-200g Gorgonzola, crumbled
• 3 cups spinach

Directions

1.   Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the rigatoni in the boiling water according to package directions until al dente. Reserve about 3/4 cup of the cooking water and then drain the pasta.

2.   Season the chicken strips with salt and pepper.

3.   In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat until the foam subsides. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until the garlic just begins to brown, about 1 minute.

4.   Add the chicken and cook until just opaque, about 5 minutes.

5.   Add the wine, bring to a boil, and cook until slightly reduced, 1 minute.

6.   Add the ricotta and Gorgonzola stirring until smooth.

7.   Add the drained pasta, spinach, and 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Toss well, adding more cooking water as needed, until the pasta and chicken are coated and the sauce looks creamy.

8.   Remove from the heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

ENJOY!