YUM! Pasta Toss with Chicken and Roasted Tomatoes

Ok, I had no idea what to call this pasta. It is sooo good so I wanted to call it Awesome Pasta or Yummy Noodles but those sound silly and don’t do the deliciousness justice. This is a hearty tossed pasta dish with an incredible flavor combination. It features ground chicken, roasted garlic, roasted tomatoes and roasted Portobello mushrooms. The roasting of the ingredients is key, bringing out the savory sweetness of the garlic, highlighting the tang of the tomatoes and deepening the eartiness of the mushrooms. Mmm…mmm….mmm

Each ingredient compliments the next in this pasta toss, but there are variations to please every palette. Vegetarians can nix the chicken and those with an aversion to mushrooms (do they exist?) can omit those as well. But the garlic, tomatoes and mushrooms MUST be roasted to ensure maximum flavor. Take the time to do it and your taste buds will thank you…then you can thank me!

Ingredients: Ground chicken, Portobello mushrooms, roasted garlic, cherry tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, angel-hair pasta, basil, salt, pepper and olive oil.

First things first – start with an entire head of garlic. Remove the outer papery skin and slice off a bit of the top, exposing the cloves.

Add a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Loosely wrap the head of garlic in aluminum foil. I like to place in a muffin tin for cooking. Roast in a 350 degree oven for one hour. Each clove will be buttery soft and golden brown.  Let the garlic cool while you cook the other components so you can handle it. Your house will smell awesome.

Slice the mushrooms and roast on the same pan as the tomatoes. Dress them simply with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees until the tomatoes start to burst and caramelize, about 25 minutes.

While the mushrooms and tomatoes roast start browning the ground chicken in about a tablespoon of olive oil. Be sure to break up the clumps. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Once chicken is cooked add the roasted garlic by squeezing each clove out of the papery skin. It will come out easy and will be very soft. Use the entire clove and mix thoroughly with the chicken (sorry I don’t have a photo for this step).

Add the roasted tomatoes and mushrooms to the chicken. Break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon and mix everything together.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve about 1 cup of the cooking water before you drain.

Add the pasta to the chicken mixture and toss thoroughly. Add the pasta water to help incorporate everything together. Add the cheese and basil and toss.

This is seriously a truly scrumptious pasta dish.

And here she is…Jax snacked on diced peaches and crackers while mama made dinner.

Pasta Toss with Chicken and Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground chicken breast
• 1 package of cherry tomatoes, washed
• 1 package Angel-hair pasta (we had about 3/4 of a package and it made enough for 4 large servings)
• 2 large Portobello mushroom, sliced
• 1 head of **roasted garlic
• 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, I used a mixture of shredded and grated (from the can)
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, sliced into thin ribbons
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

** Roasted Garlic – remove the papery outer skin of the garlic. Cut the top off exposing the cloves. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Loosely wrap in foil and roast in a 350 degree oven for one hour. Set aside to cool.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Slice the mushrooms into strips and place on baking sheet.
3. Wash the tomatoes and add to the pan with the mushrooms.
4. Drizzle the mushrooms and tomatoes with olive oil and salt and pepper.
5. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes. Tomatoes will burst and the juices will begin to caramelize when done.
6. Meanwhile, brown the ground chicken in a large skillet with a little olive oil.
7. Once the chicken is cooked through add the roasted garlic by simply separating each clove from the head and squeezing the soft insides out. The roasted garlic will be soft and buttery.
8. Mix the garlic and chicken together. The garlic will melt into the chicken and flavor it.
9. Add the roasted tomatoes and mushrooms to the chicken and blend everything together. Be sure to break apart the tomatoes with a wooden spoon to evenly distribute them.
10. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain thoroughly, reserving a cup of the cooking water.
11. Add the hot pasta with the chicken, mushrooms and tomatoes.
12. Add the cheese and the reserved cooking water and toss together. Use tongs to get everything mixed well.
13. Top with a little more cheese and the basil ribbons.
14. Serve and enjoy!

I hope you enjoy this awesome pasta as much as we do!