This unique pasta features a silky smooth Venetian sauce made with tomato, carrot, and a generous amount of butter. Add bites of chicken breast to yield a hearty bowl of noodles.
8ouncesboneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders
4tablespoonsunsalted butter
1garlic clovefinely chopped
1cupfinely chopped carrot
¼teaspoonkosher salt
1cuptomato juice
1pounddry fettuccine
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Instructions
In a saucepan, bring chicken stock to a boil. Cut the chicken breasts into lengthwise strips about the width of a finger, and drop them into the boiling stock.
Cover and bring to a boil, then decrease heat and simmer for 4 minutes. Remove the cover and set aside, allowing the chicken to cool in the liquid. When cool, transfer chicken to a cutting board and reheat the stock.
Cut the chicken strips lengthwise into ¼-inch thick slices, then cut across to make ¼-inch dice.
Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in another large saucepan. Stir in the garlic and cook over low heat until the garlic is very fragrant but not browned, a couple minutes. Add 1 cup water to prevent the garlic from browning.
Add in carrots and salt, and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is nearly dry with just a bit of water left, about 20 to 25 minutes. Stir constantly toward the end of this step to be sure the carrots do not brown at all.
Add the hot stock and tomato juice. Cover and bring to a boil, then decrease heat, partially cover, and simmer gently for 35 minutes or until the carrots are very soft. Puree with an immersion blender or regular blender until you have a smooth puree. Set aside.
Add the chicken to the sauce and reheat gently. Adjust seasoning with more salt if needed.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Generously salt the water and add in the fettuccine. Cook, stirring often, until al dente.
Drain the pasta and return to the pasta pot off the heat. Toss with the remaining butter and fold enough sauce to coat the noodles generously. Serve immediately with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese on the side for topping.
Video
Notes
If you have leftover cooked chicken, use about 6 ounces of it in place of the raw chicken in this recipe. Skip the step of cooking it in the broth, and instead simply cube it up and add it later to the sauce.
Try this recipe with wider flat noodles like tagliatelle or pappardelle if you'd like.
This recipe is easy but can be a little time consuming to prepare the sauce. You can make the sauce in advance, refrigerate it for a couple days, and gently reheat it before tossing with your noodles to save time on the day you plan to serve it.