Chef Brent Tratten – Rustic Alfredo Pasta

Ingredients:

• 1 box of pasta, preferably Macaroni or Penne

• 1-2 Chicken Breasts

• 1 pack of Beech Mushrooms

• 1 pack of frozen Peas

• 2-4 slices of Bread

• 4-5 Garlic Cloves

• 1-2 sticks of Butter

• 5-6 Chilis (or Hot Sauce)

• 1 Tomato

• Parmesan Cheese

• Salt

• Pepper

• Crushed Red Pepper

Directions:

1. Chop beech mushrooms, garlic and chilis (chilis used to garnish the final dish).

2. Cut butter into cubes and set aside for later use.

3. Chop up the tomato and set aside for later use.

4. Season the chicken generously with salt, pepper and red pepper.

5. Start to cook pasta (8-10 minutes cook time).

6. In a separate hot pan, cook the chicken breast whole. Make sure it’s hot enough for a good sear. Cook till the chicken is done and has a nice golden brown hue to it.

7. Remove chicken from the pan.

8. Add chopped mushrooms and garlic to the same pan the chicken was cooked in. Sauté until mushrooms are tender and lightly browned.

9. Take the pan off the heat for it to cool off. The pan should not be piping hot when the butter and parmesan are added, as the heat would separate and break the sauce.

10. Slice and dice the cooked chicken. Add the chicken to the pan with the mushrooms.

11. Next, add the cooked pasta to the pan. The pasta doesn’t need to be strained thoroughly as the pasta water will act as a base for the sauce.

12. Add the frozen peas to the pan, set the heat to medium, and cook & mix all the ingredients together.

13. The pasta should look moist – not too wet, and not too dry. If too wet, you can reduce the water by turning up the heat; if too dry, add more pasta water to the mix.

14. Adjust the heat and let the pan cool down till it’s just warm enough to melt butter.

15. Add cubes of butter to the pan. Swirl and toss until all the butter is melted and has created a thick sauce. Continuously swirl and toss for a few minutes for ideal consistency.

16. Taste test and add more seasoning if needed.

17. Add parmesan to the pan. Mix it in with the pasta and the sauce.

18. Plate the pasta, garnish with more parmesan and chopped chilis and tomatoes for a pop of color and flavor. Sprinkle more seasoning if desired.

19. Optional – Toast or grill 2 slices of bread. Cut and serve with the Rustic Alfredo Pasta.