Coffee Parm Pasta

    A creamy coffee flavored pasta topped with parmesan crusted chicken

    Ingredients

    • 2 Chicken Breasts
    • 1.5 Cups Breadcrumbs
    • 3/4 Cup Grated Pecorino Romano
    • 3/4 Cup Grated Parm
    • 2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
    • 3 Eggs
    • 2 Cups Flour
    • Salt and Pepper
    • 2 Tablespoons Butter
    • 1 Onion (sliced)
    • 1 Poblano Pepper (sliced)
    • 3 Cloves Garlic (minced)
    • 1 Cup Strong Coffee
    • 1 Pound Mini Penne Pasta
    • 1/2 Cup Ricotta Cheese
    • 1 Cup Grated Parm
    • 1/4 Cup Milk
    • 1/4 Cup Chopped Parsley

    Instructions

    1. slice each chicken breast in half horizontally so that you end up with two thinner chicken breasts.
    2. One at a time, put the chicken on a cutting board on top of a sheet of plastic wrap. Top with another sheet. Pound out the chicken gently to make it thinner and a uniform thickness throughout.
    3. Set up a breading station with a shallow plate of flour, one of the beaten eggs, and a third with the breadcrumbs, parsley, and cheese mixed. Season each bowl with salt and pepper.
    4. Bread the chicken by first coating with the flour, then the egg, and then the bread, each time shaking off the excess. Press the breading into the chicken. Repeat with one more coating of egg and then breadcrumbs, so - flour - egg - bread - egg - bread.
    5. Heat a pan with about 1/2 inch of olive oil. Pan fry the chicken on both sides until browned and crispy.
    6. Preheat the oven to 200 and put the chicken onto a sheet pan in the oven to stay warm until the pasta is ready.
    7. Bring water to a boil for pasta.
    8. Get the butter in a large pan on medium heat and add the onions. Salt well and cook for about 30 minutes until browned.
    9. Add the poblano pepper and cook another 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook 1 minute. Pour in the coffee.
    10. At this point drop the pasta into the boiling water.
    11. Let the coffee mixture simmer while the pasta cooks. When the pasta is done, strain and add directly from the cooking water to the sauce.
    12. Remove from heat and add in the ricotta and parm. Stir well. Add milk as needed to thin it out and make it creamy.
    13. Remove the chicken from the oven and slice. Put the pasta in a bowl and top with the chicken. Sprinkle on parsley and serve.

    Notes

    The last time I made pasta flavored with coffee was a long time ago. I was talking about that recipe recently and wanted to try a coffee pasta again but with less crazy techniques involved. I was also craving breaded chicken at the time, and I know parmesan goes really well with coffee so that’s where the bulk of the recipe inspiration came from.

    Your standard breading station. I went about 50/50 breadcrumbs to cheese. I double breaded these, so after the flour, egg, breadcrumbs they went back into the egg and breadcrumbs again.
    An onion with some butter in the pan.
    The onion is cooked way down to a golden brown, then the poblano pepper goes in followed closely by lots of garlic.
    Then the coffee!
    The pasta is added to the coffee right as it comes out of the boiling water. Finally some ricotta, lots of parm, and a little milk round out the sauce.
    Top with the breaded chicken and serve!
    This pasta has a subtle bitter coffee flavor happening but it is balanced well by the sweet and savory onions, and all the creamy and sharp cheese. The chicken is tender and juicy and is a great crunchy balance to the creamy pasta.
    The parsley adds a freshness to the dish.  I loved this so much when I first made it but the leftovers were a little dry so I added more cream and milk when I reheated them and it solved the problem.