This white sauce pasta is all about indulgence. There’s buttery garlic mushrooms, spicy grilled chicken and a cheesy white sauce that brings everything together!
This white sauce pasta is a recipe that I love making for dawaats - it's a hit with adults and children both. It's one of those continental recipes that have become a part of Pakistani cuisine, and can be seen on restaurant menus across the country. It's no wonder because the recipe is just so delicious! Fancy comfort food. Plus it's super simple.
It seems long, but there are basically four components to the recipe and they can all be made in advance, and then just heated and tossed together right before serving.
- Garlic Mushrooms - it’s best to use fresh mushrooms but if not available, canned can be used. Just make sure to thinly slice them.
- Grilled Chicken - I love using a grill pan for this recipe because it gives the chicken a smoky flavour.
- Pasta - I prefer to use egg noodles for this recipe but you can use spaghetti, fettuccine, penne pasta or macaroni.
- White sauce - I have adapted the classic French white sauce and given it a Desi kick by adding red chili flakes, followed by lots of cheese.
How do you make white sauce?
What we call white sauce is basically bechamel, one of the ‘mother sauces' in French cooking. Sounds complicated, right? It’s actually quite easy. All you need to make a bechamel or white sauce is butter, flour and milk.
Start off with heating butter until it’s melted. Add flour and cook it enough to get rid of the floury flavour. The paste that is formed is known as a roux, and in order to convert it into a bechamel sauce you need to add milk. Add the milk, while whisking constantly. Bring the sauce to a boil, after which it will thick and turn rich and creamy. Add whatever seasonings you prefer, and your bechamel sauce / white sauce is ready! It’s one of those sauces which I feel everyone should learn because of how versatile it is. I have used variations of it in my chicken pot pie recipe, my Desi chicken patties recipe, and of course in this white sauce pasta itself!
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📖 Recipe
White Sauce Pasta with Garlic Mushrooms and Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
Ingredients for garlic mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 - 3 cloves garlic sliced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon red chilli flakes
- 250 gm mushrooms can use canned if fresh aren’t available
Ingredients for grilled chicken
- 2 chicken breast, sliced in half horizontally about 400 grams
- ½ teaspoon garlic paste
- ½ teaspoon vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red chilli flakes omit if you don’t want it to be spicy
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder
- 2 teaspoon oil
Ingredients for white sauce
- 3 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- 2 tablespoon flour
- 1 ½ -2 cups milk
- 1 chicken cube
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red chilli flakes
- ½ teaspoon Italian herbs
- 200 grams shredded mozzarella cheese
- 4 tablespoon cream
- 4 tablespoon black olives
- 450 grams pasta I have used egg noodles, but you can use fettuccine, spaghetti, penne pasta or macaroni
- Olives for garnish
Instructions
For garlic mushrooms
- Melt butter. Add sliced garlic and saute for a minute till golden brown. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook till they are golden brown (about 3 - 4 minutes). Add salt & red chilli flakes, if using. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
For grilled chicken:
- Marinate chicken with vinegar, Nandos Peri Peri sauce, red chili flakes, salt, white pepper and garlic paste. Cover and keep in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Using a pastry brush, brush about oil on a grill pan, and add chicken.
- Grill for about 10 minutes on each side, till the chicken is cooked & the water dries.
- Slice chicken into small chunks, and set aside.
For white sauce:
- Melt butter & add garlic paste. Saute for about half a minute till the raw smell finishes. Add flour and stir for at least 1-2 minutes to cook out the raw taste of the flour.
- Pour in about 1 cup of milk, and stir with a whisk to make sure there are no lumps in the white sauce.
- Keep heating the white sauce on medium heat till you can see small bubbles on the side after which it should start thickening. Add chicken cube, followed by salt, white pepper, red chili flakes, and Italian herbs.
- Add shredded mozzarella cheese and let the cheese melt in the sauce. The sauce will thicken as the cheese melts, so add ¼ cup - ½ cup milk till the right consistency is reached. Add cream, and adjust seasonings if required. Make sure to keep stirring the white sauce with a whisk so there are no lumps. Stir through the black olives into the white sauce and set aside.
- If the white sauce is made in advance, the cheese will thicken & solidify into strands. Just add a little milk and reheat on low flame till cheese is melted and it becomes liquid again.
For assembly:
- Boil noodles or pasta as per packet directions and set aside.
- Make garlic mushrooms, grilled chicken & white sauce as per above recipes.
- Mix the garlic mushrooms and grilled chicken into the noodles & toss to mix together. Keep a few pieces of mushrooms & chicken aside for garnish.
- Take noodles out into a big dish.
- Pour half the white sauce over the noodles and toss lightly. Pour the remaining white sauce over the noodles and make sure they are mixed properly.
- Garnish with leftover grilled chicken, mushrooms and olives. Serve hot.
Nutrition
Maria says
Amazing recipe!
Maria says
Absolutely loved how it turned out on pasta! Can't wait to try it again.
Manda Harker says
This blog just brightened my day. I just love the internet.
yameen says
hi mam
it's really looking yummy. thanks with regards
nba_zazo says
Detailed recipes are great...given some people need the extra hand holding :). Thanks for all the info...very useful!
S says
How much garlic in the 'shrooms?