Penne in a Creamy Pesto Sauce with Fresh Mozzarella, Grape Tomatoes n Chicken



Orchids, is my favorite restaurant in Chembur, Mumbai (that's where I'm from) and I really miss their food. I had a lot of favorites and I remember taking an awful lot of time to order as it was really difficult to choose one dish over the other. I love the choice of Italian food and one dish I ate often was the Pasta alla Genovese. This is one of the most popular Italian sauces, basically fresh pesto tossed with warm pasta. Their version was so creamy with lots of chicken.
This is my version of that dish and though not the same, it's just as creamy, rich n delicious.



Penne in a Creamy Pesto Sauce
Ingredients:
200 gms penne or any other pasta of your choice
200 gms boneless skinless chicken, poached
150 gms grape tomatoes, halved
1 1/2 tbs olive oil/ butter 
1 tbs a. p. flour
1 cup milk
salt n pepper to taste
1/2 cup pesto sauce
100 gms fresh mozzarella, cut into small pieces
grated Parmesan


Method:
Cook the pasta as per packet instructions.
In the meanwhile, heat 1/2 tbs oil in a pan and saute the tomatoes and chicken for 1-2 mins and keep aside.
Heat 1 tbs oil in another pan on low heat, add the flour and cook over low heat till the raw smell disappears, about 2-3 mins. 
Add the milk slowly, stirring all the time to avoid lumps. Cook over a low heat till thick and smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
Drain the pasta and immediately add to the sauce. Stir in the pesto, chicken, tomatoes and mozzarella. Mix everything till combined and take off the heat. 
Transfer to individual serving plates and top with grated Parmesan. Serve hot.

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This is my entry to
1. 'My Favorite Things - Cheese', which I'm hosting this month.



2. 'Presto Pasta Nights' hosted by Sara, event started by Ruth.

27 comments:

  1. Wow thats looking so tempting and gorgeous.. I love this so much..pass me that bowl.

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  2. Pasta is very creamy, delicious!

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  3. wow! thats soo tempting :) lovely dish

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  4. mm..love this creamy sauce! great entries for the events :)

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  5. Wow...that looks so delicious..nice click :)

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  6. wowo..this is my type of pasta dish u knw..roux with milk n shciken for bites ..lol..creamy smooth n rich..great one poornima..:)

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  7. Looks so yummy... just feel like having some from that bowl :)

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  8. Even I love Penne in pesto sauce..looks great

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  9. looking delicious, I would love to have it, of course except chicken :) I have something for cheese event too, hope to publish it soon.

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  10. looks like the one we get in restaurants...

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  11. Looks delicious. I like to cook & learn lotz of pasta dishes. This is superb.

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  12. Looks mouth watering..nice clicks!!

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  13. Wow i am sur ebookmarking this, i loved the idea you used mozeralla in this and chicken too.

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  14. Oh, this is like the ultimate comfort food for me. Creamy pesto pasta, I love it! I love that you added some chicken to bulk it up as well. Delicious!

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  15. Oh wow what a delectable combo...simply scrummy....

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  16. Am ready to finish the bowl..so cheesyyy and delicious!

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  17. Pesto is my favorite sauce too - what a lovely dish that is Poornima.

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  18. Hearty flavors ,bet it tastes better than any restaurants:)

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  19. mmm. looks so mouth-watering. I would love to have it without chicken :)

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  20. Wow! Cool pasta! Love the snap of the dish! Give me a spoon for a sample! :)

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  21. Great looking pasta. It's so nice when we can recreate a restaurant dish...especially one so far away.

    Thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Nights.

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  22. I clicked over here from the PPN roundup. I LOVE this pasta. Your rendition looks absolutely delicious!

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  23. The pasta looks really tasty.
    Orchids happens to one of favourite restaurants too especially for Chinese food. I never tried Italian out there. Will try it some time with my daughter since she loves pasta.

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  24. This was really good! I'm not normally a fan of grape tomatoes but they are perfect in this dish. Thanks for sharing the recipe!!!

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