Pasta With Mascarpone, Chicken, Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Spinach

Hi all!
AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING! That is how I describe this pasta. I loved the tangy citrus, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach. It was easy and only took 30 minutes to make so speedy too! After spending almost 5 hours attached to a microscope, easy and fast was a high priority that this dish filled to a T. It was also nice and colorful. Its only down fall is that it is a bit fatty because it uses mascarpone cheese. You might be able to decrease the fat content by using low fat or fat free greek yogurt or cream cheese, so I bet you can guess what this girl is going to be trying next time! Mascarpone cheese is also the secret ingredient in Tiramisu soooo that means its delicious though not the most nutritious. Mascarpone cheese is a delicious blend of milk, cream and citric acid, which makes it thicken,  It's somewhere between a clotted cream and cream cheese. It has a very smooth silky texture so if you go for the lower fat option I would suggest using whipped low fat cream cheese or thinning out the 8 oz of cream cheese with 2-3 Tbs of skim milk and whipping it until it is smooth. I can already taste it and its going to be delicious but until then, here is the original recipe and link.
 http://www.italianfoodforever.com/2012/02/pasta-with-mascarpone-chicken-sun-dried-tomatoes-spinach/

Pasta With Mascarpone, Chicken, Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Spinach

Everything you need to make this lovely dish!

Ingredients:
1 Cup Mascarpone Cheese At Room Temperature
Zest & Juice of 1 Lemon
1 tsp Cracked Black Pepper
3 Boneless, Skinless Chicken breasts cut Into 1 Inch Dice
1 1/2 Tbs Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic, Peeled & Minced
Salt & Pepper
1/3 c. Chopped Sun-Dried Tomatoes
1 (9 Ounce) Bag Baby Spinach
1 box Pasta
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano/ Pecorino Cheese

Combine the zest, lemon juice, mascarpone, and pepper in a bowl, and whisk to combine.

Sadly a month ago sous chef Matt broke my zester so I had to use this thing which resulted in me fling lemon zest all over the kitchen and myself trying to get it out of the blasted grater. You're better off with a zester rather than flinging lemon zest all over yourself and the kitchen. To zest a lemon only take off the shiny waxy part of the fruit, if you get too much of the rind it will make the dish bitter.

This thing also came with a juicer top so at least that was handy...

Flung lemon zest and juice. I got as much as I could in the bowl, the rest I ended up wearing and flinging all over. At least it made the kitchen smell lemony fresh...

Dumping the mascarpone cheese into the lemon zest, lemon juice and pepper. Notice how light and fluffy it looks!

Whip it! Whip it good! Or if your lazy, just use a fork and stir it around. Its not like you can fling lemon anywhere it hasn't already been tonight

Bring a pot of salted water to boil.
While waiting on the water, heat the oil in a skillet, and cook the chicken until it is cooked through and just beginning to brown, about 6 to 8 minutes .

Before

After

Add the garlic and cook another minute or two, then season with salt and pepper.

LOVE these! I use one cube per clove and it saves so much time!

Hard to tell, but one of the garlic cubes is in this picture (hint: its the one that looks like a cube!)

Added salt and pepper, YUM

Cook the pasta until al dente, drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

So I forgot to take a picture as I was pouring the pasta in, so I took this one. See? Empty box

Lazy chefs just use a ladle to reserve the 1/2 c. of pasta water rather than trying to catch 1/2 c while straining the pasta. I'm just not that coordinated

Return the pasta to the pot, and set over medium heat.Stir in the mascarpone and lemon mixture, the chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, and spinach.

Pasta? Check! Chicken? Check! Sun-dried tomatoes? Check! Mascarpone mixture? Check! Last thing to add is the spinach

Had to add the spinach in batches because otherwise it would not have fit in the pot all at once

Loosen the sauce with some of the reserved pasta water and toss all ingredients together until the spinach has wilted (but not mushy).w

Almost there! I only added 1/4 c. of the pasta water, but could have added more if needed

Serve immediately, topped with grated cheese.

This was a great surprise. I wasn't sure how the lemon would go with the rest of the ingredients, but it looked so good, I had to try. My big concern was that it would curdle the mascarpone, but that didn't happen at all. Everything was nice and smooth and it was so tasty that Matt and I both went back for seconds. Be sure to try this one out and maybe try a lower fat option I mentioned above. Anyway you do it, you really ought to try this one if you like lemon. If you do not like lemon I'd let this one pass, you will not be happy with it. This also would go really nicely with a crisp Chardonnay or Riesling. Rats! I totally should have had wine with this... Oh well, just means I need to make it again so I can find the perfect wine pairing.
Happy eating!