My sister, Becky, posted this delicious recipe on her website, A Flourishing Life. I made this recipe for dinner this week, and it was delicious! Ok, I almost made this recipe. I consider recipes to be like jazz music – they are a great base, and then I riff from there.
Since I don’t eat wheat or dairy, I started with the rice noodles that I generally use, and added the chicken stock, which is the secret that makes this recipe unique and delicious. I needed to continue to add stock as it cooked down, as the rice noodles worked differently. The starches in the pasta worked like risotto (because that’s rice), and the chicken stock plus the adding process created a creamy sauce like you would get in a classic risotto, eliminating the need to add cream at the end. The chicken stock also created a rich flavor! I also added shredded chicken, diced bacon, and toasted pine nuts at the end because, you know, jazz (and youngest sibling . . .!)
But here is the original recipe, or you can read it on A Flourishing Life.
Simple, yummy, garlicky, creamy – everything you crave in a pasta dish.
Course Main Entree
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings 4 hungry people
INGREDIENTS
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
2 Tbl butter
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 pound pasta
1 cup grated Parmesan
3/4 cup half-and-half
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INSTRUCTIONS
- Have these ingredients ready – minced garlic, butter, chicken broth. Heat olive oil in the stockpot you usually use to cook pasta. Add minced garlic. Only saute the garlic until fragrant – 1 to 2 minutes. Add butter and stir constantly until melted. Pour in chicken broth. Add pepper and salt. Bring to a boil. Add pasta. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite. Stir in Parmesan cheese and half and half. Mix thoroughly and serve.
RECIPE NOTES
The original recipe calls for 4 cloves, but that is store-bought garlic from a different country. Minnesota home-grown garlic is robust and flavorful and needs less than half what a typical recipe would ask for.
Add more chicken broth if pasta starts to stick to the pan. DO NOT DRAIN! There won’t be much chicken broth left and you don’t want to lose any of the garlicky deliciousness.
The original recipe calls for heavy cream instead of half and half.
This would be great with chicken or shrimp on the top.