Ah...Giada De Laurentiis.
She makes such extravagant meals. And, though I love her meals (most of the time), I sometimes think, "Ugh! I don't have time for you and your long, fancy ingredient list!"
But, I have waited and waited to make this meal. I kept looking at it in her cookbook "Everyday Pasta" and being tempted. I finally gave in and made it.
I should have made it ages ago!!!!
The ingredients:
1/4 C. olive oil; 3lbs. boneless skinless chicken; salt and pepper; 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and sliced; 1 yellow bell pepper also cored, seeded and sliced; 3 oz. prosciutto, chopped; 2 garlic cloves, chopped; 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, with juice; 1/2 C. dry white wine; thyme; oregano; 1/2 C. chicken broth; 1 box of fettuccine; 2 Tbsp. drained capers; parsley.I forgot to put the chicken in the ingredients picture. She asks for 2 chicken thighs and 4 chicken breasts in her recipe, but I had a lot of chicken thighs, so I lived on the wild side and only used thighs. I'm so rebellious.
This is Prosciutto. It's actually the main reason I kept putting off this recipe. You see, it cost $6.99 for 4oz. And, for someone on a shopping budget, that's a lot of moola for very little meat. But, I bit the bullet and bought it at the fabulous Sunflower Market. My normal grocery store does not sell such fine meat products.
Start by heating some oil over medium-high heat and throwing in your peppers. I have sliced up peppers in little baggies in my freezer (because I'm a dork...but a smart dork), so I just threw in a bag of yellow and a bag of red peppers. Easy peasy.
Take the prosciutto (which is paper thin! Look at it! You can see my fingers through it!)
And chop it.
Add it to the peppers. You're going to cook the peppers and the prosciutto until they all brown and the prosciutto is a bit crisp.
Then take your garlic that is starting to sprout, but it's not a big deal, so don't freak out...
and chop it up. Add it to the skillet and cook for a minute.
Add the diced tomatoes, juice and all!
Then add the wine,
the oregano (which, if you have fresh, you'll need 1 tsp. chopped, but if you have dried, a smidge)...
the thyme (which, if you have fresh, you should use 1 Tbsp. chopped, but if you have dried, a big smidge) and stir all together. Make sure and scrape up any brown bits stuck to the bottom.
Now, add the chicken back to the skillet.
Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Once it's boiling, reduce the heat and cover the skillet. Let it all simmer together into a heavenly deliciousness for 30 minutes.
While the sauce and chicken are simmering, boil some salted water and add the fettuccine. Cook as directed on the box.
Once the 30 minutes of simmering is done, remove the chicken and place on a cutting board. Shred the chicken.
Then re-add it to the sauce.
Stir in the capers and the parsley (which, if you're using fresh parsley should be 1/4 C., but if you're using dried should be more like a couple of tsp.).
Stir! Stir! Stir!
Take your fettuccine and place it in a large bowl.
Take a generous scoop of the sauce and put it on top of the pasta.
This dish was delicious. Deliciously fantastic. Deliciously fantastically wonderful! Everyone ate it like it was their job. It also was much easier to cook than I thought. I would say that from preparation to eating, it took less than an hour. I loved the peppers and the spices. They complimented the meat. It all fit together perfectly. I definitely recommend trying this one out. (Oh, and if you are not interested in searching for prosciutto, it would be just as delicious without it!)
This is Prosciutto. It's actually the main reason I kept putting off this recipe. You see, it cost $6.99 for 4oz. And, for someone on a shopping budget, that's a lot of moola for very little meat. But, I bit the bullet and bought it at the fabulous Sunflower Market. My normal grocery store does not sell such fine meat products.
Start by heating some oil over medium-high heat and throwing in your peppers. I have sliced up peppers in little baggies in my freezer (because I'm a dork...but a smart dork), so I just threw in a bag of yellow and a bag of red peppers. Easy peasy.
Take the prosciutto (which is paper thin! Look at it! You can see my fingers through it!)
And chop it.
Add it to the peppers. You're going to cook the peppers and the prosciutto until they all brown and the prosciutto is a bit crisp.
Then take your garlic that is starting to sprout, but it's not a big deal, so don't freak out...
and chop it up. Add it to the skillet and cook for a minute.
Add the diced tomatoes, juice and all!
Then add the wine,
the oregano (which, if you have fresh, you'll need 1 tsp. chopped, but if you have dried, a smidge)...
the thyme (which, if you have fresh, you should use 1 Tbsp. chopped, but if you have dried, a big smidge) and stir all together. Make sure and scrape up any brown bits stuck to the bottom. 
Now, add the chicken back to the skillet.
Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Once it's boiling, reduce the heat and cover the skillet. Let it all simmer together into a heavenly deliciousness for 30 minutes.
While the sauce and chicken are simmering, boil some salted water and add the fettuccine. Cook as directed on the box.
Once the 30 minutes of simmering is done, remove the chicken and place on a cutting board. Shred the chicken.
Then re-add it to the sauce.
Stir in the capers and the parsley (which, if you're using fresh parsley should be 1/4 C., but if you're using dried should be more like a couple of tsp.).
Stir! Stir! Stir!
Take your fettuccine and place it in a large bowl.
Take a generous scoop of the sauce and put it on top of the pasta.
This dish was delicious. Deliciously fantastic. Deliciously fantastically wonderful! Everyone ate it like it was their job. It also was much easier to cook than I thought. I would say that from preparation to eating, it took less than an hour. I loved the peppers and the spices. They complimented the meat. It all fit together perfectly. I definitely recommend trying this one out. (Oh, and if you are not interested in searching for prosciutto, it would be just as delicious without it!)
Hi VA! This recipe looks great! I too used to avoid recipes with prosciutto because of the expense. Then I realized that most deli counters sell it and you can buy it by the slice, which is much more cost effective. I have one recipe that calls for 1 slice of prosciutto per chicken breast. When I go to the deli counter at the store, I ask for 4 slices and guess what...it's usually less than $1!!! Every store I've shopped at (save walmart) sells it at the deli counter, including our beloved sunflower market!!! Hope this helps!
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