Pasta with chicken

- great sauce without broth - juicy chicken fillets - a great idea for a pasta dish

Preparation time: 1 hour Pasta cooking time: 7 minutes Number of servings: approximately 1750 grams of dish Energy value 145 kcal Carbohydrates 15 g - Including sugars 2 g Protein 10 g Fat 5 g Diet: low-sugar, high-protein.

• 1 medium chicken breast - about 500 g
• 2 tablespoons of oil for frying
• 1 tablespoon of clarified butter
• 1/3 cup of whipping cream 30%
• 100 g Cheddar or Parmesan cheese
• 4 cloves of garlic - 20 g
• 1 medium onion - about 150 g
• 1 handful of baby spinach - 50 g
• 1 large tomato - about 340 g
• 300 g Tagliatelle pasta - weight before cooking
• spices: half a teaspoon of salt, 1/3 teaspoon of pepper

Pasta with chicken and spinach

My glass holds 250 ml. The vegetables were weighed before any peeling/preparation.

300 grams of dry tagliatelle will yield approximately 650 grams of pasta after cooking. The calories were calculated based on the ingredients I used. Therefore, this is an approximate calorie count based on the ingredients used in this recipe. Before preparing tagliatelle with chicken and vegetables, I encourage you to read the entire post first. It includes many interesting tips on ingredients and their substitutes. For example, you can use chicken thighs instead of chicken fillets, and instead of Cheddar cheese, choose matured Grana Padano cheese or the delicious Caciocavallo Silano.

Pasta with chicken

Remove any cartilage and fibers from two small chicken breast fillets (one whole chicken breast). Cut the meat into similarly sized large pieces. Season the pieces with half a teaspoon of salt and 1/3 teaspoon of pepper. Heat a medium-sized frying pan. Set the burner to a higher than medium heat. Pour in two tablespoons of cooking oil and add a tablespoon of clarified butter. Carefully place the fillet pieces in the hot oil. Fry the meat until golden brown, about three minutes per side.

Tip: You can also use other cuts of chicken. When choosing thighs, choose four smaller ones and fry them with the skin on. It's worth trying to remove the bones and cartilage first.

Remove the fried fillet pieces to a plate (without the fat that remains in the pan). Don't worry about whether the meat is cooked through. You'll still need to simmer the meat in the cream sauce for a while. Don't wash the pan with the fat. You'll use the same pan to prepare the sauce.

Place the peeled and chopped onion (I used quite coarsely chopped) in the pan after the meat was cooked (with all the fat). Sauté the onion over medium heat for about 6 minutes, until golden brown. After that, add the four garlic cloves. Peel them and slice them. Sauté the onion and garlic for another two minutes.

Peel a large tomato (about 340 grams) (or two smaller ones), cut it into pieces, and add it to the pan. Add a handful of baby spinach. Stir everything together.

Tip: Instead of fresh tomatoes, you can also add a smaller can of chopped tomatoes (a can weighs about 400 grams). Instead of baby spinach, you can use bulk spinach. However, you should thoroughly rinse it, remove the stems, and tear it into smaller pieces with your hands. When choosing frozen spinach, choose the kind with whole leaves (not chopped or shredded spinach).

Set the heat to medium. After about five minutes, the spinach should soften and the tomatoes will release more water.

Next, pour about 1/3 cup of 30% heavy cream into the pan. This will be about 85 grams of cream. Immediately add no more than 100 grams of grated cheese. I chose light Cheddar, but you can also use Parmesan, Grana Padano, Parmigiano Reggiano, or even the harder-to-find but very tasty Caciocavallo Silano. Stir the sauce thoroughly.

As soon as the cream sauce returns to a boil, add the reserved browned meat (along with any liquid that may have collected in the pot along with the meat). You can now add some chopped chives, a pinch of sweet paprika, more pepper, or a pinch of chili. Simmer the chicken sauce over low heat for the last five minutes, then turn off the heat.

Tip: If you want to make the sauce thicker (maybe it's too thick), add more tomato or a bit of homemade vegetable or chicken stock.

While you're finishing the sauce, you can cook the pasta. I chose tagliatelle, but you can also use penne. Pour water into a pot and bring to a boil. To cook 300 grams of dry pasta, you'll need 3 liters of water. Salt the water only when it begins to boil. Add a teaspoon of salt to the boiling water. Place the pasta in the pot and cook until al dente. Stir the pasta while it's cooking.

Cooked pasta should be springy, but not break when rolled around your finger. I usually cook tagliatelle a minute longer than the manufacturer recommends on the package. Transfer the cooked pasta to a colander and immediately return it to the pot. The pasta should be moist. This time, I got about 680 grams of cooked pasta.

Place portions of pasta on plates. Pour the hot sauce over the pasta along with the chicken pieces. Garnish each portion with fresh basil leaves. You can slice the chicken pieces directly on the plate or remove them from the sauce, slice them, and serve them on plates.

I also invite you to the best recipe for spaghetti bolognese.

Enjoy your meal!