Light Al’ (Alfredo) chicken pasta

I love a good luscious, rich and creamy pasta as much as anyone else. When I think of how much I used to consume of it at one point in my life, the lining of my gut inevitably shudders. Not just because of the crazy calorie-load but because of just how unhealthy the whole dish is – heavy processed carbs and full in saturated fats!  Naturally, after just a few forkfuls I felt uncomfortably bloated and oddly unsettled. And I know I am not the only one.

That being said, I still love me a good creamy pasta sauce and because I just cannot palate/digest restaurant sauces anymore I had to experiment and come up with an alternative. A few kitchen disasters later, I have this … a healthy and light, low-calorie, more nutritious version of Chicken Pasta in Alfredo sauce 😀

Note : the quantities of ingredients used are because I aimed at making enough for two meals for TWO people (yes I use my friends as guinea pig tasters). Halve them if you’re cooking for yourself only and it’ll make enough for 2 meals worth. This is especially useful if you’re a crazy busy-bee like myself and can’t always cook wholesome meals daily.

You will need :

• 1 cup of greek yoghurt (you may use low-fat yoghurt instead)
• 1/2 cup mozarella cheese
• 2 chicken breasts (lemon, thyme, rosemary and olive seasoning which are easily available in any supermarket)
• salt & pepper to season the chicken and pasta as per taste
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1-2 tsp of ginger-garlic paste (if you feel like using fresh ginger and garlic be my guest. I just find this the easier alternative)
• 250g of pasta of your choice. Best to use wholewheat gluten-free pasta (in the whole process of perfecting this experimental recipe I forgot to use the healthier option)
• chilli flakes to garnish

Method :

Boil-cook your pasta as you would normally. Save half a cup of the starch water before you drain the cooked pasta. This will be useful for the sauce later.

Whilst your pasta cooks, cut your chicken breasts and season it. A side note, I’ve invested in a razor-sharp pair of kitchen scissors which I find useful in just snipping the chicken breasts into strips; easier than knife and cutting. In a bowl mix together the juice of half a lemon, rosemary and olive seasoning, thyme, salt & pepper. The quantities of seasoning depend on your tastebuds and vary from person to person. Add the chicken strips and ensure they’re well-coated with the seasoning. Leave to stand for a few minutes. If you do this step a few hours before or overnight it’ll ensure the chicken has an enhanced flavour.

Cook the chicken well in a pan and then remove to stand in a plate on the side. In this very pan, fry the ginger-garlic paste in the olive oil for a minute or two. You’ll know when it’s ready because the aroma will tingle your nose 🙂

Turn the heat to a low flame and now to the pan, add the yoghurt, nutmeg and starch water from the pasta. Stir until the sauce is mixed well !

Finally throw back in the cooked chicken, cooked pasta and the mozzarella cheese. Mix well until the sauce has covered all the pasta and chicken and the mozzarella has melted and it forms stringy strings you see as you mix & stir.

Garnish with chilli flakes (if you like the spice punch) and DIG IN !!!

Now how is THAT for a creamy, luscious yet light, Freddy pasta sauce 😉

— Dr. Daamini Shrivastav