Rigatoni pasta in a rosé sauce made from tomato paste, heavy cream, and cooked down with spicy Italian sausage. My go to pasta recipe that can be made in 20 minutes or less. You can customize the protein in this recipe however you want. Some of my favorites are grilled chicken breast or ground Italian sausage.
How I like to cook chicken breast
I have always found that cooking an entire thick piece of chicken breast takes too long. The outside gets cooked faster than the inside and you never know when it is fully cooked. That is why I always split my chicken breast in half, this way It cooks more evenly and really only takes 5-6 minutes on high heat.
Should you use milk or cream for rosé pasta with chicken breast
I would personally recommend using a mixture of both. Regular milk has a far less fat content which will make it less creamy and it will end up quite watery if only using milk. The cream will lighten the color and thicken our sauce. If at any point you find the sauce is too watery, I would add more starchy pasta water and simmer to allow it to thicken. If the sauce is too thick, you can just add more water or milk to thin it out.
Add starchy pasta water in rosé pasta with chicken breast
There are a few reasons why adding starchy pasta water to the sauce is important. Firstly, we cook the pasta in salted water which means the water will season our sauce. Secondly, cooking pasta releases starches which act as a thickening agent. Adding the pasta water will help thicken the sauce.
Rosé Pasta With Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 300 g rigatoni pasta
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 chicken breast
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ onion
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2.5 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ cup milk
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup pasta water
- salt & pepper
- parmesan
Instructions
- Cut chicken breast in half so that they cook faster.1 chicken breast
- Season with garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and salt.1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp salt
- Cook chicken over a high heat pan with 1 tbsp of oil for 2.5 minutes on each side. Set aside while we cook pasta.1 tbsp olive oil
- Begin to cook pasta according to package instructions in a pot of salty boiling water. We want it al dente which means about 80% cooked.300 g rigatoni pasta
- Into the same pan, add oil, chopped onions and garlic. Stir 1 minute over med heat.½ onion, 5 cloves garlic
- Add tomato paste, stir 1 minute.2.5 tbsp tomato paste
- Add milk and heavy cream bring up to a simmer.½ cup milk, ¾ cup heavy cream
- Add cooked pasta along with 1/3 cup of pasta water and fully incorporate the sauce with rigatoni. If the sauce is not thick enough, just let is simmer longer. If it is too thick, add more water.⅓ cup pasta water
- Season with salt and pepper to taste, add grated parmesan.salt & pepper, parmesan
- Top with chopped chicken breast, and parsley.
