Farfalle with Chicken and Mascarpone

Experimenting with unfamiliar ingredients can be as rewarding as completing one’s Master’s thesis (I wouldn’t know…). On the other hand, it could lead to cursing in one’s kitchen, setting off the fire alarm, and throwing your improperly seared duck breast in the sink and rushing out to your favorite burger joint to commiserate with your fiancé over the fact that patience is not one of your virtues. Not that I’ve ever done that.

If that were to happen, however, I bet the next dish I’d make would be a classic. Something that never disappoints, whose recipe list I know off the top of my head, and leads to zero frustration in the kitchen.

I can’t even count the number of times this pasta dish has appeared on my plate. Over the years, I’ve made numerous versions: vegetarian-friendly, replacing chicken with shrimp, substituting all kinds of veggies, but this is my favorite preparation.

What you’ll need:

(*Pretend you also see garlic and red pepper flakes.)

Directions
You’ll need half of a large onion (Vidalia, preferably). Cut off the top, slice from root to tip, and peel the outer layer of skin.

Slice the onion thinly and set aside.

Next up, sun-dried tomatoes. I have a mild addiction to these. And by mild, I mean can’t live without them, adore the flavor, would-use-them-more-often-if-John-were-as-obsessed-as-me. I blame my best friend, Chaya. When we lived together in undergrad she would throw these into 95% of her recipes. Consequently, I did too!

Drain about 3 tablespoons of sun-dried tomatoes, but reserve the olive oil. That stuff has a ton of flavor… which we will be taking advantage of in about five minutes.

Lots of stores carry julienned (or thinly sliced) sun-dried tomatoes. Not Fairway, however. (*Side note, Fairway is our favorite market in NYC. If you’re crazy like me and enjoy checking out grocery stores when you travel, stop by the Harlem location. It’s “like no other market!”)

Give the tomatoes a rough chop and move them to the side.

You could simply heat some olive oil to sauté your onions in, but I like to use the sacred olive oil from the sun-dried tomatoes. Heat your oil over medium high heat and toss in your garlic and red pepper flakes. Let these flavors meld for about 30 seconds, then add the onions, salt and pepper (don’t skimp!). Let ‘em go for about 15 minutes.

If you like them really sweet, continue to caramelize for another 10 minutes or so, but I think they’re perfect here.

While your onions are sautéing, prepare the chicken. Remove any fat and cut into 1-inch cubes (aka “Ari-sized bites”, as opposed to 2-inch cubes, which I refer to as “John-sized bites”. I’ll explain later.).  Place all your chicken in a bowl and add ½ teaspoon of salt and some freshly ground black pepper. If you want to pour a little of the sun-dried tomato olive oil over your chicken, go ahead. I won’t tell.

Any shape of pasta will do, but we always use farfalle. It’s tradition, and we all know you can’t break tradition. Bad things would happen.

Friends, meet farfalle (whole wheat pictured):

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add some salt, and dump in your pasta. Cook till al dente, please.

While your pasta is working, try not to eat all of the onions straight from the skillet (a bad habit of mine) and add the chicken. If you can resist, leave the chicken alone. It won’t get brown if you move it.

Ok, now you can move the chicken. Once it has cooked through on one side (about 3 minutes) turn the chicken and let it do its thing again. Toss in your sun-dried tomatoes and peas, season with salt and pepper (just a little this time), and heat through. The tomatoes and peas don’t need very long, maybe one or two minutes.

Drain your pasta and combine it with your chicken and veggies. What really sets this pasta dish apart is the mascarpone cheese. It’s creamy and wonderful and gives this recipe a luxurious feel. Mix everything together; if you have some fresh parmesan cheese lying around (I always do) grate some on top, grab a fork and DIG IN.

P.S. You’re welcome.