Bowtie Chicken Pasta With a Balsamic Mascarpone Sauce

Bowtie Chicken Pasta with a Balsamic Mascarpone Sauce

When I was trying to determine which recipes to include for the initial launch of this blog, this recipe kept coming to mind. This was the first recipe my wife and I ever attempted to recreate from scratch. I was attending school in Columbia, Missouri, and one of our favorite restaurants at the time was an Italian-Mediterranean restaurant called Sophia’s. For a while they had the most glorious pasta dish, that really just seemed to hit on all cylinders. This is our interpretation of the dish.

To me this is just really one of those dishes in which the sum of its parts end up being so much more than any one ingredient. The saltiness of the prosciutto and sweetness of the apples and Mascarpone marry perfectly with the tang of the balsamic while the pecans add a pleasing crunch to the dish. Fans of Samin Nosrat, will see that this dish hits all of the key aspects of a perfect dish (Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat). If you have not seen her Netflix special or read her award winning cookbook, please do yourself a favor and hit it up.

Making the Balsamic Mascarpone Pasta

This recipe comes together quick, with minimal ingredients, and is so worth the effort. For the recipe you will need bowtie pasta, prosciutto, balsamic vinegar, mascarpone, an apple, Roma tomatoes, red onion, and pecans

Prepare all of the onion, tomato and apples by roughly chopping them.

Next, season the chicken breast with salt and pepper, to taste, then dice the chicken.

Cook the noodles

Bring a pot of water to boil, then cook the Farfalle to al dente following the package instructions (typically 10-12 minutes).

Sauté the prosciutto and onion

While the pasta is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat in a large cast iron or sauté pan and sauté the onion until just beginning to soften, then add the pecans, and prosciutto.

While the prosciutto and onion is cooking heat about 1 tablespoon of oil in a separate pan, and saute the chicken over medium heat until lightly browned and cooked through. This typically takes about 5-10 minutes. Remove the chicken from the heat and transfer to a bowl.

Cook the prosciutto mixture for about 2 more minutes then turn off the burner and stir in the diced apple, so the apple caramelizes a little in the warm pan but does not become mushy.

Preparing the Balsamic Mascarpone Sauce

In a separate bowl mix the balsamic vinegar and Mascarpone cheese until smooth. At first it will seem as though they will not mix well, especially if the cheese is very cold, but after a couple minutes it will break and combine easily. For those of you living in the Midwest, we have really become big fans of Soiree Creamery. Everything we have tried from them has been divine, so if you see any of their products, pick them up.

By this time the noodles should be done cooking. If they are done, drain the water and toss with a couple teaspoons of olive oil to keep them from sticking, then set aside to complete the final steps. You are getting so close!

Return the pan with the onion, apple, and prosciutto to low heat and stir in the cheese mixture, until melted and smooth. Mix in the chicken and finally the fresh diced tomato.

Stir in the pasta and serve while warm. If you want, top with a little extra chopped pecans for some added crunch. We find this pasta goes extremely well along side a nice, fresh caprese salad. Enjoy with a glass of blood orange bellini or Blackberry Red Sangria. For more Italian inspired dishes try our Italian Style Parmesan Wings and Smoked Lasagna.

Have extra pecans? Why not make some Bourbon Cinnamon Sugar Pecans or a Bourbon Maple Pecan Pie.

Thank you for taking the time to visit our blog. If you tried and enjoyed our recipe please share with others and please leave us a comment and review. We also love to see your pics so don’t forget to tag us @Carne_Diem_Culinary or To be notified of future recipes please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest, or sign up for our e-mail notifications. Until next time, Carne Diem!