Fresh Linguine with White Sauce

Here's another recipe for a romantic date at home, served with a slice of Italian Bread.

I love noodles. Since I got the pasta attachment for my KitchenAid, I can't get enough of fresh pasta. Bill usually doesn't like linguine, but he loved this meal. Homemade makes all the difference!

It actually takes less than an hour to cook this whole meal. Since the pasta is fresh, it takes less than five minutes to cook. As long as the chicken was prepared ahead of time, the sauce is pretty fast to cook as well. We had some leftover Chicken Under a Brick from a weekend dinner party and it was full of flavor, perfect for this meal.

Fresh Linguine
2 servings

2/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg

White Sauce with Chicken
3 tbsp butter
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup milk
1/2 tomato, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp dried basil
2 tbsp flour
1/3 cup grated Romano cheese
1 cup cooked chicken, cubed
2 oz fresh spinach

Make the pasta dough with the flour, egg and salt. Carefully mix the egg with a fork on top of the flour. Gradually incorporate the flour and make a soft dough. Once most of the flour is incorporated, knead with your hand until it's smooth.

Divide the dough into three to roll out with a pasta roller. For this recipe, I stopped at level 6. Cut the pasta. Dust with flour to prevent it from sticking together. Before sauce is completed, cook the pasta in boiling water for 4 minutes.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Cook the onion for 3 minutes. Add the milk, and stir in tomato, garlic, salt, black pepper and basil. Cook for 5 minutes. Whisk in the flour, one tablespoon at a time. Cook for 3 minutes or until thickened. Stir in Romano cheese, chicken, and spinach. Cook until spinach is wilted and the chicken is heated. Add the drained pasta to the pan and toss in the sauce. Serve with a slice of bread. Enjoy with a glass of wine!