Shell Pasta w/Thyme Cream Sauce

I don’t really eat that much pasta, but when I do, boy is it a clearly delicious treat: shells, elbow macaroni, fusilli pasta, you name it.  Plus, with a homemade sauce, pasta dishes can be pretty impressive.

This easy to make pasta dish calls for ingredients you will most likely have in your kitchen: chicken broth (or stock), cream, dry white wine, and herbs like thyme and salt and pepper to taste.  You can also make it with chicken, shrimp, broccoli, or spinach to give the dish a little something extra.

Shell Pasta w/Thyme Cream Sauce

This recipe comes as a variation of Elise Bauer’s “Chicken Pasta with Thyme and Mint Cream Sauce” available here.  Having recently killed my mint plant (sniff, sniff) and not being in the mood for meat, I made a vegetarian (or sans meat) version of this recipe with double the thyme.  It was a simple, easy, clearly delicious sauce that goes great on any pasta, but I happened to have brightly colored shell pasta.

Ingredients:

* 1 pound shell pasta, cooked al dente

* 2 tablespoons basil infused olive oil

* salt and pepper, to taste

* 1/2 cup dry white wine

* 1/2 cup chicken stock

* 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

* 1 teaspoon lemon zest

* 2 teaspoons honey

* 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (can substitute sherry vinegar)

* 1/2 teaspoon salt and fresh pepper or more, to taste

1.) Prepare pasta according to package instructions, drain, and set aside.  Remember, your pasta water should taste like “sea water” to add flavor to the shells.

2.) While pasta is cooking, prepare the cream sauce: warm a large skillet over medium-high heat and add wine and chicken stock.  Whisk to combine and allow to simmer until liquids have reduced by half (turn up heat if necessary).

3.) Add cream, thyme, salt and pepper, lemon zest, honey, apple cider vinegar, and simmer for about 5 minutes.

4.) Add cooked pasta to skillet and toss to combine in sauce.  Remove pan from heat and serve with fresh thyme and salt and pepper to garnish.   Makes 4.  Enjoy!

Shell Pasta w/Thyme Cream Sauce, 5.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating Google+