Sometimes the best recipes come from a little creativity whilst traveling. I’m currently in Granada, Spain with Alona and my parents for a family vacation, but that doesn’t mean I can’t cook (even though most of my meals are delicious tapas…more on that to come). This pasta alla camembert crema was solely made because I found an ingredient I had never used before: Camembert Crema. This is basically a permanently melted version of camembert without the rind, and I felt it would give great flavor to a pasta sauce.
This is not a complicated recipe, and was inspired by one of my favorite recipes, my Penne Alla Vodka, however there are a lot of ingredients. Sometimes when I make dishes I get a little carried away by trying to add as many flavors as I can. Especially when I’m on my travels and have seasonings and spices from all over the world on hand. However the end result is quite delicious and would definitely impress your guest(s).
Quite possibly my favorite ingredient in this dish other than the camembert crema is the piquillo peppers. These are just some roasted peppers in oil that really kicked an otherwise simple cream sauce up a whole lot. However, you’d be mistaken if you think that’s where the reddish color in the sauce is from. That comes from saffron. You can leave it out, I just happened to have a little jar since I was traveling to Spain from Turkey and I always pick up saffron when there.

Ingredients
- 250 grams Rigatoni. You can use any pasta you want for this dish, the star of the show is the sauce so anything meant to hold sauce will do just fine.
- 150 grams Camembert Crema. If you can’t find camembert crema at your local store, you can cut the rind of a normal soft camembert and the sauce will melt it anyways.
- 2 Chicken Breast. These were marinated in a little herbs du provence, but you can use straight from the package as well, it really won’t make a difference.
- 3 stamens Saffron, optional
- 3 cloves Garlic, chopped.
- 1/2 Red Onion, chopped.
- 3 Piquillo Peppers, sliced. I bought these jarred which made it a lot easier. I suggest you do the same if you can find them.
- 100 ml Heavy Cream
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil

Instructions
In a skillet put the heat on medium and add the olive oil. Once it begins to heat, add the chopped onions and saffron. Let sauté until the onions begin to soften, then add the chicken breast. Cook on each side, about 3 minutes.
In a pot with salted water add the rigatoni pasta. Follow instructions for al dente (or less as it can continue to cook in the sauce slightly). For my rigatoni it was 13 minutes which was the perfect amount of time for the rest of the sauce.

Remove the cooked chicken and set aside. Add the garlic and cook for just a minute, then add the heavy cream. Mix well. Add the Piquillo peppers and the camembert crema and stir well. Let the sauce thicken and reduce by about 50%.

Slice the chicken breast into strips and add back to the sauce. Drain the rigatoni and add to the pan and toss to coat everything. Add a dab of butter and serve the pasta alla camembert crema hot! Garnish with some halved or quartered cherry tomatoes if you want.
Notes
You may notice I didn’t add any salt to this dish. As with most pasta dishes I HEAVILY salt the pasta water, and usually it is enough for the rest of the dish. You can absolutely add more salt if you feel it is necessary, but just be careful not to over-salt the sauce.

Pasta Alla Camembert Crema
Ingredients
- 250 grams Rigatoni or pasta of your choice
- 150 grams Camembert Crema
- 2 Chicken Breast
- 3 stamen Saffron
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 1/2 Red Onion chopped
- 3 Piquillo Peppers
- 100 ml Heavy Cream
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- In a skillet put the heat on medium and add the olive oil. Once it begins to heat, add the chopped onions and saffron. Let saute until the onions begin to soften, then add the chicken breast. Cook on each side, about 3 minutes.
- In a pot with salted water add the rigatoni pasta. Follow instructions for al dente (or less as it can continue to cook in the sauce slightly). For my rigatoni it was 13 minutes which was the perfect amount of time for the rest of the sauce.
- Remove the cooked chicken and set aside. Add the garlic and cook for just a minute, then add the heavy cream. Mix well. Add the Piquillo peppers and the camembert crema and stir well. Let the sauce thicken and reduce by about 50%.
- Slice the chicken breast into strips and add back to the sauce. Drain the rigatoni and add to the pan and toss to coat everything. Add a dab of butter and serve the pasta alla camembert crema hot!