Creamy tomato cottage cheese pasta
35 min · 61 g protein · 491 cals / serving
A rosé-style pasta where blended cottage cheese does the job of cream: garlicky tomato sauce turns pink, silky and clingy, with seared chicken, wilted spinach and chickpea pasta folded through. It tastes like a restaurant vodka sauce and carries about 60 grams of protein a bowl.
Ingredients
- 1 lb 2 oz chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- a pinch red pepper flakes
- 1 can (14 oz) canned crushed tomatoes
- 8 oz lentil pasta, dry, chickpea or red lentil penne (about 500 g cooked)
- 1 1/3 cups cottage cheese (1%)
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- 5 big handfuls baby spinach
- 1/4 cup water, from the pasta pot
To serve
- a handful fresh basil, torn
Steps
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta 1–2 minutes short of the package time; legume pasta keeps softening in the sauce. Scoop out a mug of the cooking water, then drain and rinse briefly so it does not stick.
- Meanwhile, season the chicken with the oregano, half the salt and the pepper. Heat the oil in a large deep nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and sear the chicken 5–6 minutes, turning, until golden and cooked through (165°F). Move it to a plate.
- Lower the heat to medium, add the onion to the same pan and soften 4 minutes, adding a splash of the pasta water if it starts to catch. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste and pepper flakes for 1 minute, then the crushed tomatoes and the rest of the salt. Simmer 10 minutes.
- Blend the cottage cheese and parmesan with about a cup of the hot tomato sauce until completely smooth, a full minute, then stir it back into the pan off the heat. The sauce turns a creamy pink.
- Return the chicken, add the pasta and spinach, and toss over low heat until the spinach wilts and everything is coated, loosening with pasta water as needed. Do not let it boil. Finish with the basil.
Good to know
Will it split?
Not if it stays below a simmer once the cottage cheese is in. Blending the cheese with some hot sauce first warms it gently, which is what keeps it silky.
Can I use regular pasta?
Yes, the same 8 oz dry, cooked to al dente. It is the classic texture; the bowl just carries less protein and fiber, and scores about 65 instead of 74.
Per
- Calories
- 107
- Protein
- (51%)
- 13 g
- Fat
- (18%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (31%)
- 9 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 243 mg
More meals
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 1964 kcal goes into the pot and 2066 g of ingredients comes out as about 1840 g of food: 107 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.