Alice in the Kitchen

Peppered Pasta

This is one of the very first recipes my dad taught me how to make.  It is a wonderful combination of a light alfredo, grilled chicken, and colorful peppers.  It serves a crowd, and it’s delicious!

You need:

• 4 boneless chicken breasts, grilled and cut or torn into small pieces (the smaller the better)
• 1 large red pepper
• 1 large green pepper
• 1 large yellow pepper
• 1/4 cup finely diced or chopped sweet onion
• 10 oz. pkg. frozen sweet peas (I forgot the peas in this version)
• 1 pound penne pasta
• olive oil
• 1/4 cup marsala wine (or any good full-flavored sweet red wine)

Sauce:

• 1 cup cream
• 1 cup butter
• pinch of nutmeg
• white pepper to taste
• 2 cups fresh Parmesan cheese (don’t cook this, but add at very last)

Slice the peppers into long thin strips about 1/8” wide.  Combine with 1/4 cup onion.  Saute the peppers and onion in just enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan.  Cook only long enough to tenderize the peppers, then add 1/4 cup of wine.  Simmer briefly and then turn heat to low to keep hot.

Combine the cream and butter for the alfredo sauce and heat slowly, stirring and reducing the volume somewhat.

Prepare the pasta as you normally would.  Strain pasta and rinse in hot water.  Put pasta in a big bowl and add enough olive oil to keep it from sticking later.

Pour off some of the liquid from the sauté, and add the remaining liquid, peppers and onions to the pasta (use your judgment in how much liquid to use).  Add chicken strips and frozen peas next.  Pour in parmesan cheese and the Alfredo sauce.

Toss, stir, and serve.