Chicken Alfredo Pasta

Rich, Tender, and Quietly Abundant

There are certain dishes that feel less like recipes and more like gestures — toward comfort, toward gathering, toward the particular kind of generosity that comes from feeding people well. Chicken Alfredo is one of them. It carries the weight of something familiar without asking you to think too hard, and yet when you slow down and make it with care — patient with the cheese, attentive to the simmer — it becomes something genuinely worth sitting down for. This version folds in sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts, small additions that deepen the quiet richness already waiting in the pan.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons salted butter
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (with salt and pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces)
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 pound ziti or Alessi Organic Penne Pasta
• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream (warmed)
• 8 ounces freshly shredded Parmesan cheese (about 3 1/2 cups)
• 7 ounces Alessi Julienne Cut Sun Dried Tomatoes (drained)
• 1/4 cups Alessi Pine Nuts (for topping)
• 1/4 cups freshly snipped Italian parsley (for topping)
• Alessi Sea Salt & Black Pepper Corns to taste

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Add the chicken pieces into the skillet and saute until browned on at least 2 sides.
3. Don't cook all the way through.
4. Just brown them.
5. Move the chicken from the pan to a plate and set aside.
6. Add the garlic to the skillet. Cook and stir for 30 seconds.
7. Add the chicken stock and bring it to a low boil.
8. Add the pasta and boil for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
9. Add the warmed cream and the chicken with juices.
10. Stir well.
11. Cover and simmer over low heat for 4-5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally.
12. Slowly add in 3 cups of freshly shredded Parmesan cheese, 1/2 a cup at a time, stirring between each addition.
13. Save about 1/2 a cup for use as a topping on the pasta when serving.
14. Once the cheese has all melted in, add the drained sun-dried tomatoes and mix well.
15. Add salt and pepper to taste.
16. Transfer spoonfuls of the pasta to serving plates and sprinkle with pine nuts, fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese.
17. Serve warm.