Chicken and Farfalle With Roasted Garlic Sauce Recipe

It's my favorite meal at the Cheesecake Factory and I found the perfect recipe that REPLICATES it.  NO LIE! I won't deny this seems to be a very time consuming recipe.  I believe I started it at 5:30 pm and didn't finish it fully until 7:00 pm or later.  It was WELL worth it though because it was scrumptious.  What caused this recipe to take so long was the fact that I did NOT roast the garlic prior to beginning cooking.  I had everything ready, but I couldn't proceed until I roasted the garlic.

Thank you Jenna Tinsman for sharing this delicious recipe! If you want to really impress someone, I highly suggest making it!

I got a little happy with my camera, but I think photos are so helpful when preparing a meal.  Enjoy the photos and please use them as a step by step visual.  First, be sure you preheat oven to 375 degrees!

Prepare the chicken by placing the chicken breast on a sheet pan and rub with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and ½ teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper. Roast the breast for 30 to 40 minutes, or until just cooked through and the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Reserve the chicken drippings for the sauce and remove the chicken from the bone and remove the skin and then shred and set aside.

While the chicken is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a very large sauté pan. Add the thinly sliced bacon and render until it is crispy. Use a slotted spoon to remove the pieces of crisp bacon to a paper towel lined plate to drain excess grease and set aside.

In the same pan with the rendered bacon fat add the mushrooms and sauté on medium high heat until most of the liquid has evaporated and then the chopped onions and sauté the onions over medium heat until they are caramelized along with the sliced mushrooms. Now add the sliced sundried tomatoes and sauté for another 3 minutes. Deglaze the pan by adding the white wine and bring to a simmer and cook until it has reduced by half. Use a wooden spoon the scrape the bottom of the pan to release the brown bits into the wine.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil; season the boiling water with 2 tablespoons of kosher salt. Cook the farfalle pasta to the package specifications for al dente. Drain the cooked pasta but reserve ½ cup of the pasta water.

Now add the heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Add the roasted garlic paste to the cream sauce along with the reserved pan drippings from the roasted chicken and whisk to incorporate well. Add the shredded cooked chicken to the sauce and simmer the sauce for 5 minutes until slightly thickened.

Next add ½ cup of fresh fine grated parmesan cheese to the sauce and stir constantly to incorporate well. Use pasta water to thin the sauce if it gets too thick, but only if necessary. Add kosher salt and pepper to taste and then add the drained pasta to the sauce along with peas. Stir to incorporate and to warm the peas through. Add 3/4 of the crisp bacon and toss again to incorporate and transfer to a large serving platter. Garnish with the remaining crisp bacon pieces and serve!

Photo overload. I was having fun with my editing program.  

Lilah, as cute as she is, sure does make it look even better than it tastes :)