Chicken and Andouille Sausage Pasta with Creamy Smoked Mozzarella Cream Sauce

By vealam

Ingredients

• For the pasta:
• 12 ounces penne pasta
• 2 tbsp coconut or avocado oil, divided
• 1 lb chicken breast, diced into 1” chunks
• 2/3 yellow onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 1/2 cup, red bell pepper, large dice, about 1” pieces
• Andouille Sausage - 4 links ( 12 ounces), sliced into thin circles. - I like the smoked chicken andouille from Trader Joe’s
• 28 ounce container chopped tomatoes, drained
• Mozzarella cream sauce:
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 1/2 c heavy cream
• 1/2 c milk
• 1/2 c parmesan cheese
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 8 ounces smoked mozzarella, shredded
• Garnish:
• 1 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
• Freshly grated parmesan

Details

Servings 6
Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 50mins
Adapted from pineappleandcoconut.com

Preparation

Step 1

Make the pasta:
Prepare the penne pasta according to package directions, using salted water to cook. Reserve ½ c of the pasta water before draining. Set cooked pasta aside. This can be done while the rest of the ingredients are cooking
In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, heat one tablespoon of the coconut oil. Season the chicken with a little salt and pepper then saute, stirring often until almost cooked, about 10 min. Remove from the pan and set aside. Heat the remaining oil and add in the diced onion and garlic, cooking until caramelized, about 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add in the seasonings - salt, pepper, bail and parsley and the red bell pepper. Stirring until the pepper is slightly softened. Add in the andouille sausage and cook another 2-3 minutes. Add in the chicken and tomatoes and the pasta stirring well. Let sit on low heat while the cream sauce is being made.

To make the cream sauce:
Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat, whisk in the flour to form a paste, add in the cream and milk and stir well until heated but not bubbling. Add in the parmesan, tomato paste, salt and pepper and whisk until the sauce starts to thicken and the parmesan is melted. Stir in the shredded mozzarella until melted and the sauce is smooth. Pour the sauce over the pasta mixture in the pan. Add in the sliced basil reserving some for on top of individual portions and serve. Top each serving with additional grated parmesan if desired.