Another Tuesday Night Dinner is now in the books.  Yesterday, I bought this month’s Real Simple and made my own version of their recipe Spaghetti with Sweet Potatoes and Ricotta.  I loved the concept of the ricotta with the pasta and I’m into sweet potatoes right now because I am trying to feel “Fall” somewhere in the 105 degree Arizona desert.  I changed some the ingredients and added some different spices.  But, all in all, the concept is the same.  I personally think it could have used a little sweetness to it, so in the recipe I will present to you, I am adding some agave nectar into the ricotta, but I think brown sugar would be amazing too.

Sweet Potato Pasta with Chicken and Ricotta

Sweet Potato Pasta with Chicken and Ricotta

1 Full Box of Spaghetti – I used a low glycemic pasta

1 Tbsp of Olive Oil

3 small Sweet Potatoes, diced (I liked almost equal amounts of sweet potatoes to spaghetti…but, cut to two potatoes if you want less)

2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, diced

2 Shallots, diced

2 Garlic Cloves, minced

Light Ricotta – I dolloped some onto each serving…some people wanted more, some wanted less.

1/4 c of Brown Sugar or 2-3 tbsp of Agave Nectar (choose only one)

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

1/2 tsp Garam Masala

10-15 Basil leaves, chiffonade

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1 c of the spaghetti Cooking Water

Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to the box directions…Drain once done, remembering to reserve a cup of the pasta water.  Set Aside.

Meantime, in a large saute pan, put oil in.  Saute Shallots, Garlic, Chicken and Sweet Potatoes for 10 minutes.  Then add all of the spices, salt and pepper.  Continue to cook mixture until chicken is cooked through and the sweet potatoes are fork tender (this is for about another 5 -10 minutes)

In a separate mixing bowl, combine the ricotta cheese with your choice of brown sugar or agave nectar…mix well and set aside.

Toss cooked pasta with chicken potato mixture.  Then add the grated Parmesan, fresh basil and the reserved pasta water.  Mix to combine.  Serve on individual plates and place a dollop of the ricotta mixture on top of the plated pasta.  Have fresh grated Parmesan out on the table for individuals to put on their pasta.

Makes 4 – 6 servings

I served mine with just a tossed salad on the side and some red wine brought by guests and from our collection.

Two of the Wines at Our Dinner

Wines:

2005 Gnarled Vine Zinfandel, Lodi, California – This was a good starter, well balanced and had slight tannins

2006 – Windmill Zinfandel, Lodi, California – Travis said that this wine tasted like the color purple.  This had a smoky flavor and was smooth with a full body.

2007 Frances Coppola Black Label Claret, Geyserville, California – this is one of our favorite go to wines…it’s consistently good, smooth and easy to drink…very well balanced and full bodied.

Happy Eating!

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Tags: cooking, Food, Tuesday Night Dinner

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 16th, 2009 at 1:01 pm and is filed under Cooking and Food, Pasta Dishes, What We Are Eating, Wines We Are Drinking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.