Pasta with Balsamic Sauce

[SNPiccolo5]

This recipe tastes amazing, I thought I had to share it. It's inspired froma Noodles and Company dish, which I think is the best out-to-eat place, ever.

Obviously, since it's pasta, it's more carb-heavy, but I eat it on days that I workout.

Here's the ingredients

-1 Tb Balsamic Vinegar (depnds on your taste, AND how many calories you want)
-1 Tb olive oil (you could use chicken stock instead- I'm going to try this)
-Red onion- a few slices, separated into rings.
-Roma Tomato- 1 cut into small pieces, seeded if too juicy.
-1 clove garlic
-1/4 cup + fresh basil, torn but not chopped
-2 oz. dry whole wheat pasta- cooked (measure 2 oz. pasta, then cook it)
-3 oz. cooked chicken breast.

1. Sautee the onion and garlic in olive oil/chicken stock over medium/high heat for about 1 minute, just until onion starts to soften, garlic should not be brown at all yet. Season with salt and pepper
2. Add tomato and sautee for about 30 seconds, longer if you want your tomatoes more "sauce-like" = mushy.
3. Add whole wheat pasta, fresh basil, and balsamic vinegar, and if you want it mixed in, the chicken. I leave the chicken on the side and eat it separate from the pasta. Now is the final time to add any salt or pepper. You'll need less if you're using more balsamic. Cook until pasta is hot and balsamic evenly coats dish. Serve immediately.

This dish satisfies all my pasta cravings, and it's not that bad- the only fat in the recipe is the oil if you choose to use it. I had this as my meal after my post-workout shake. Hope someone tries it!

-Tim

[CF-OC_gal]

That sounds tasty! I love balsamic vinegar.

[SNPiccolo5]

I recently discovered balsamic vinegar as one of my favorite flavors. It it amazing on salads.

I made this pasta again, and realized I used much less balsamic, like 1 Tb. If you end up making this, don't use 2 Tb balsamic unless that's all you want to taste. Also, it really does require more oil, too.

Let me know when you make it!

-Tim

[Gearloose]

Just a note about Balsamic vinegar, if you don't already know this:

Real Balsamic vinegar is aged, just like wine, and is made from wine vinegar. And, like wine, the more you pay for it, the better it tastes--up to a point. The cheaper supermarket stuff is not much more than plain white vinegar with caramel color and flavoring added. The better tasting stuff starts around $7 or $8 a bottle and the price goes up from there. When you start paying $20 or more for a tiny 6 oz bottle of vinegar, you are getting up in the "wine snob" territory imho, and the taste difference is not really worth the price. Don't even get me started about the $120 a 4 oz bottle 12 year old stuff.

[punkie]

I've tried this and it was AWESOME! Thanks!