Don’t you think little things are so cute. The smaller they are the cuter they are. Little spoons, little kittens, little kids, little shoes… I have a tiny bottle of ketchup from room service at a hotel and I just can’t bring myself to use it because it is so cute. Well, it is the same with pasta (called pastina). This recipe uses miniature pasta. Very cute. I think you can get small pasta at most grocery stores now. Give this easy recipe a try.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta. I used mini shells.)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup cubed chicken breast ( I used chicken from the freezer section that was already seasoned with Italian seasonings. I highly recommend this. It made the chicken so so so yummy).
- 1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 a small onion)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 1 tablespoon butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish
Directions:
1. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta and pour into a buttered 8 by 8 by 2 casserole dish (the smaller square kind).
2. While the pasta is cooking, put the olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more.
3. Put the chicken mixture into the dish with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
4. In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter. (To learn how to make “dotting butter” quick and easy, click here.) Bake at 400 F. until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
