Pasta Fresca

A few weeks ago while husband and I were on the hunt for a new car, we went to a place for dinner called Noodle & Company. I thought it was delicious, and a great little place for quick pasta dishes. I ordered Pasta Fresca off the Mediterranean menu and loved it. So, tonight I set out to recreate the dish at home.

I knew that I could probably look for the recipe online, but I was up for the challenge of going off my instincts- it was much more fun that way. And- it turned out awesome, I am excited!

For Pasta Fresca you will need the following: 1 large chicken breast, or 2 small, a half box of penne pasta, 3-4 handfuls of fresh spinach leaves, 1/2 cup of shredded parmesean cheese or feta, 1 small red onion, sliced, 2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped, 1 small tomato, sliced, salt, pepper, and roughly 1/4 cup of each balsamic, evoo, and white wine.

This dish does require multi-tasking, but don't dismay if you have poor multi-tasking skills. I am confident that you can do it, because they are easy skills. It's a great dish to cook with someone else to split the multi-tasking.

To start, bring water to a boil for the pasta. Then, coat your chicken in about 2 tbs of evoo, and add about 1 tsp of each salt and pepper. Preheat your grill to cook the chicken. You'll want to go ahead and place the chicken on the grill first once it is heated. (I waited and I ended up having to wait on the chicken to finish, so do start it first.) While the chicken and pasta are cooking, start to cook the onions until they are almost soft, at that point, add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Let the onions and garlic sit on low. Next, combine the 1/4 cup of each evoo, balsamic, and white wine. Add about 1/2 tsp of each salt and pepper and whisk it all together. Let this stand. Next, gently saute the spinach in 1 tbs of evoo. Add salt and pepper to taste to the spinach. This will only take about three minutes. Once the chicken is finished, let it rest for about five minutes. Then, slice the chicken. Drain your pasta. Top the pasta with the spinach, onions/garlic, sliced tomatoes, and chicken. Pour a liberal amount of the balsamic mixture over it all. Top with the parmesean. Enjoy.

I enjoyed a cup of coffee from Guatemala after dinner (compliments of Megan). Let me tell you, that stuff rocks.

Later tonight husband and I went to the store and I asked him to pick up some Rasinettes. He said they had no Rasinettes, so, I took matters into my own hands and made chocolate covered crasins. Almost, but not quite, as good.



Until next time..