Pasta Fresca

Are any of you crazy about balsamic? Because I sure am! Balsamic salad dressings, balsamic glaze, flavored infused balsamic… if it has balsamic vinegar in it, I’m in. I could practically drink the stuff plain. This pasta fresca recipe fits very nicely into my favorites because it has balsamic in it.

But, balsamic isn’t the only great thing about this dish. It also includes cherry tomatoes, spinach, red onion, chicken, and Parmesan cheese. All of these flavors blend together extremely well.

In college when I was just making this recipe for myself I would add tons of balsamic, loving the biting flavor it gave the recipe. However, when I got married things changed. Michael isn’t a huge fan of balsamic and only likes it in very small quantities. When I made him my original version of this recipe, he quickly told me “it’s alright.” This is his soft way of telling me he doesn’t like it at all. Props to him for trying to soften the blow a little bit;) I was determined to tweak the recipe until I made a version that he could enjoy with me. So here is the final product of pasta fresca that we both love. See marriage is all about compromise and making sure both people have happy tummies;)

**Extra Tips**
After making this dish multiple times I have found a few things that help this dish be a 10 every time. The first thing is to cook your pasta al dente. This simply means don’t over cook your pasta. You want it to still be slightly firm when you bite into it. The second suggestion is to only sauté your tomatoes for a few short minutes, you don’t want them to be soggy. My final tip is to really blend your sauce ingredients together. I use my immersion stick blender to make sure all ingredients are well incorporated. However, you can whisk it by hand if you don’t own an immersion blender.

Pasta Fresca

Print Recipe

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 box gluten free penne pasta
• 2 chicken breasts- diced
• 1 1/2 C. cherry tomatoes sliced in half
• 1/2 red onion-sliced
• 1 T olive oil
• 1/2 bag spinach
• Parmesan cheese
• Sauce:
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• ¼ C olive oil
• ¼ C balsamic vinegar
• ¼ C white cooking wine
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1

Cook pasta according to package instructions. Set aside.

2

Whisk together sauce ingredients until well combined.

3

Cook chicken in skillet until no longer pink. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

4

In the same skillet add red onion and olive oil- sauté until softened slightly.

5

Add tomatoes and sauté an additional minute or two.

6

Add cooked pasta, chicken, sauce, and spinach to skillet.

7

Reduce heat to low and cover until spinach starts to wilt.

8

Serve and top each serving with Parmesan cheese.