Light Chicken and Asparagus Carbonara

Submitted by MelvinsWifey

"This DOES NOT taste like a light meal! I got this out of a Cooking Light magazine and nearly fell in love! It's very creamy and just super easy to make any night of the week. Have dinner on the table in an hour or less! This is absolutely delicious with crusty bread and a green salad!"

 

• Ready In: 1hr
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 8 ounces spaghetti
• 2 cups asparagus, 1 inch slices (about 3/4 lb)
• 1⁄2 cup egg substitute
• 1⁄2 cup fat-free evaporated milk
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1⁄2 cup onion, chopped
• 1⁄4 cup dry vermouth
• 2 cups cooked chicken breasts, chopped
• 1⁄2 cup parmesan cheese (2 ounces, freshly grated)
• 3 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 3⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 4 slices cooked bacon, crumbled

directions

1. Cook pasta in boiling water 10 minutes or until al dente; add asparagus during final 2 minutes of cooking.
2. At this point, if you don't already have pre cooked chicken, season chicken breasts with salt and pepper on each side. Heat a bit of olive oil in a skillet, and sautee breasts 5 minutes on each side, or until done. Chop chicken into bite sized pieces, and set aside.
3. Drain pasta mixture in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/3 cup cooking liquid.
4. Combine reserved cooking liquid, egg substitute, and milk, stirring with a whisk.
5. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and onion to pan; sauté 2 minutes.
6. Add vermouth; cook 1 minute.
7. Add cooked pasta and asparagus mixture; stir to combine.
8. Remove from heat; stir in milk mixture, chicken, and cheese.
9. Place pan over medium heat, and cook 4 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring frequently. Do not let it scorch.
10. Remove from heat; stir in parsley, salt, pepper, and bacon. Serve immediately.

Reviews

[little_wing]

The main flavors of this pasta are some of my favorite so I was really excited to try this recipe. After reading the prior comment about the sauce "going chunky", I proceeded carefully. I looked it up on the internet and found that milk is more likely to curdle with higher temperatures and when it is low fat or fat free. Thus informed, I made sure to remove the pan from the heat, and even let it cool slightly before adding the milk mixture. Mine did thicken up after returning to the heat, but it did come out a little curdled looking. Also, the sauce was a little bland. If I made it again, I would probably not use fat free evaporated milk which definitely undermines the "light" aspect of the dish. I think this is one of those types of sauces that the trade off is not worth it. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

 

[velorutionista]

I'm not sure what went wrong, but this just did not work for me. The flavors were great together, but the sauce didn't thicken up at all, it just went all chunky. I'm going to try it again, and if I can get it to work, I'll give it a star rating.