Name: Creamy Fettuccine Pasta With Chicken
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 4 chicken breasts; 300 grams fettuccine pasta; 3 mixed color bell peppers; 1 medium sized eggplant; 1/4 cup olive oil; 1 tbsp. butter; 2 cloves fresh garlic (minced); salt and pepper (to taste); 2 chicken breasts; 250 grams Mascarpone Cheese; 1/4 cup cream

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On Jan 20, 2021, Updated October 05, 2024

This rich and creamy fettuccine pasta is the combination of roasted eggplants, roasted peppers and pasta all coated a delicious pool of ricotta cheese and whipped cream! A delicate and luxurious main dish for any occasion.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE

Peppers, Eggplant and Roasting

PEPPERS

First things first, rinse your peppers, shake the water off and clean them on a flat surface or board. I've used one of each color for taste and vibrancy. To clean the peppers, cut them in half and remove the seeds (deseed them). Drizzle a little olive oil and season them well. My suggestion would be to use baking paper at the bottom of the roasting pan because it really does make for easy cleaning!

One more thing, once the peppers are roasted and have had time to cool, remove the peel which will now come off easily.

Garlic

The garlic is optional so don't worry about it if by the time you've gone through this recipe you want to leave it out. I had some garlic to use so this is what I did.

Heat a non stick pan, add about a tablespoon of oil and added my garlic and let it cook till golden brown. This gets tossed in once we are pulling everything in together so set it aside for now.

EGGPLANTS

Rinse and cut off the tops and discard. Cut into cubes, place in a bowl, drizzle of olive oil and generous amount of seasoning. Use your hands to give them a good coating, making sure that they are all coated. Use the same bowl (all those drippings!) to do the same with the peppers - toss and coat. You can use one extra large baking tray or 2 as long as the peppers and the eggplants have enough room so that you have some even cooking throughout.

MASCarPONE CHEESE

Mascarpone is an Italian soft cheese made from cream and resembling cream cheese, that is coagulated by the addition of acidic substances such as lemon juice, vinegar, or citric acid. It is recognized in Italy as a prodotto agroalimentare tradizionale.which basically is saying that's it's an agricultural product. Like you would say corn is an agricultural product? Same thing.

USES OF MASCARPONE

Mascarpone can be a bit bland on its own that's why it's used more in baking because it can be sweetened with all sorts of things like sugar, icing or castor sugar, compote, chocolate etc. you know what I mean. As well as savory dishes!

This creamy fettuccine pasta is one hundred percent delicious with the roasted peppers all on it's own, trust me but adding the mascarpone cheese gives it a very distinct teste because mascarpone has a high fat content, is extra creamy and it heats really well without curdling.

CREAM

Okay now as much as mascarpone is all of the above I found that adding the cream - Yes let's do it! The combination of regular whipping cream and you don't have to whip we're not baking, created that defining line of very good with mascarpone to creamy glorified fettucine pasta for dinner! Well... that's what I should have called this recipe!

FETTUCCINE PASTA

There are so many types of pasta out there from the most frequented one which is spaghetti to tagliatelle, rotini, penne, farfalle, gnocchi, ravioli, rigatoni, orecchiette (my mother in law's favorite), ziti, orzo, lasagna, tortellini, fusilli, cannelloni, shells and the list goes on! Also with pasta they go in categories because you get pasta lunga (long pasta), pasta corta (short pasta), sheet pasta etc. Anyway, I digress so one more thing - there's another pasta that you can get mixed up with when choosing fettuccine and it's pappardelle because they are similar. Pappardelle is broader than fettucine so it can take a heavier sauce like meat sauces.

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COOKING THE PASTA

Once cooked according to packet instructions but generally depending on thickness the time can vary. This fettuccine should take about 8 to 10 minutes. There are number of ways to check if it's ready, taste it without burning, if you've been cooking pasta for a long time you will tell by the color because it changes. You can also try cutting a piece off with a fork and if it's too hard to cut it's raw.

Don't forget to always leave about a cup and half for of the pasta water to help along with whatever sauce you are making. The pasta water also helps for example - if you cooked the pasta and have drained it because the longer you leave it in water it will not just over cook but it will also become almost slimy a bit lethargic if you ask me and this is when you can use the pasta water to revive it so it's loose and light again. Let's be clear, I am talking about reviving it in the same cooking time so a matter of minutes.

RESERVING THE PASTA WATER

We all know about reserving the pasta water right? If you don't just google it, it's everywhere! I learnt that trick from my mother in law many moons ago while living in Italy. Let me just say that pasta water will and can make all the difference in the world to your pasta dish but in this recipe I am sharing with your my very own secret weapon to the most creamiest pasta of all time! Okay, so read on...

THE COMBINATION

When adding the mascarpone cheese to the a saucepan to heat, you then add the cream, mix the 2 together, keep stirring, it takes a couple of seconds to heat. Stirring it helps to keep the heat balanced, at least that's what I found. Seconds after, once the mascarpone cheese and cream is smoothing out (because it must not be very hot or boil or bubble) - so once it smooths out here's my fun, secret tip!

Make sure the pasta is cooked at this stage (see full recipe below) and then pour the cream mix into the pasta water, return to the heat for a about minute on medium heat, stirring and add that into the pasta! It must be the salty starchy water which on its own is already so good for the sauce because it thickens it and it also helps the sauce hold onto the pasta.

BREAKING IT DOWN FOR YOU

And why this works:

The choice of pasta, in this case fettucine which is perfectly sized (nice and wide) to hold onto to the sauce
Mascarpone cheese which is more like sour cream or crème fraiche but not so tangy. It's a bit sweeter and "sweeter" is not really a word I like to use because it's not at all sweet but its also not as sour as crème fraiche. It just gives off a thicker richer feel.
Thick whipping cream a little pour jut to get the mascarpone to smooth down and flow a little.
When you put this saucepan that holds the cream, cheese and pasta water back on the heat, it comes together in perfect harmony! Just looking at it you know it's going to change and elevate whatever you add into it or pour it on top of.

The salty, starchy water not only adds flavor but helps glue the pasta and sauce together; it will also help thicken the sauce. The way you drain the pasta can also affect the

CHICKEN BREAST

The idea here is to make this recipe as satisfying as you a bowl of pasta can possibly be. I went with chicken breast because it has no fat no skin because the cheese, cream and olive oil in the veggies carried more than enough good fat and flavor.

creamy fettucine pasta with eggplant and peppers

Here are more delicious pasta recipes;

creamy Fettuccine Pasta With Chicken and veg

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Creamy Fettuccine Pasta