Mediterranean Pasta in a Creamy Feta Sauce
This Mediterranean Pasta in a Creamy Feta Sauce started as a happy accident. Last week I was low on groceries and looking through my fridge hoping to find a few things to throw together for dinner. What I came up with was feta cheese, hummus and basil mixed together and melted over pasta. It was surprisingly good and I couldn’t help but think I was onto something. I’ve since improved it into a real recipe by adding the feta and hummus to a roux to make a rich, creamy sauce and filling out the dish with herbs, chicken, sun dried tomatoes, artichokes and calamata olives. Now the pasta tastes fresh, creamy, tangy, and full of Greek flavors. You may even want to squeeze a lemon wedge over the top for added brightness. I didn’t have one on hand but I think I might add a little spritz next time.
This dish presents beautifully, which makes it perfect for serving company, a family dinner, or a comforting meal at home. No one will ever guess that a filling portion of this chicken and pasta in a decadent, creamy cheese sauce clocks in at less than 350 calories! To view your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!
Mediterranean Pasta with Feta Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 oz wheat macaroni pasta
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ½ teaspoon chopped basil
- ½ teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bit sized pieces
- ½ cup chopped canned artichoke hearts, packed in brine without oil
- 2 oz sun dried tomatoes, dry packaged & julienne cut (I used California Sun Dry brand but have also used Bella Sun Luci)
- 12 Calamata olives, pitted and sliced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
- 2 tablespoon light butter
- 2 tablespoon flour
- 1 ½ cups skim milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 oz crumbled Feta cheese
- 2 tablespoon garlic hummus
Instructions
- Bring water to boil in a large pot and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and place in a large bowl.
- While the water is boiling in step one, bring the oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. Add the garlic, ½ t basil, oregano and rosemary and stir into oil. Cook for about a minute until garlic is fragrant. Add the chicken to the pan and stir to coat chicken with the oil and herbs. Cook for 5-7 minutes until chicken is cooked completely through. Add the chicken and any remaining oil in the pan to the large bowl containing the pasta and toss together. Add the artichokes, sun dried tomatoes, olives, and tablespoon of basil to the pasta and toss again until ingredients are combined and set aside.
- Melt the butter over low heat in a medium saucepan. When butter is melted, add flour and stir together for about one minute. Add the milk in slowly, whisking ingredients together until flour clumps are thoroughly mixed in. Raise heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer for a minute or so until thickened and stir. Add in the feta cheese and hummus. Continue to whisk ingredients until feta is melted and sauce is smooth.
- Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta mixture in the large bowl and stir together until well combined.
Notes
348 calories, 38 g carbs, 4 g sugars, 10 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 26 g protein, 4 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com) MyWW SmartPoints per (1 1/4 cups) serving: (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com) Green: 10 SmartPoints/ Blue: 9 SmartPoints/ Purple: 5 SmartPoints Weight Watchers Points Plus:
9 per serving (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)
