pennoni con pollo e funghi
pennoni with chicken and mushrooms
Confession - I’m not a big fan of poultry on pasta. And I have no idea why. Maybe it's the traditional Italian aversion to putting chicken in pasta that influences me... my theory about that is that it's based on the idea that it's very easy to overcook and dry out cuts of meat like chicken breasts; even chicken thighs and legs can be tricky to cook with. In the Veneto region of Italy a common alternative is DUCK, because it's a much fattier meat and less likely to dry out - and in fact recipes for duck ragù, with really quite long cooking times, are common in this part of Italy.
Anyway, plenty of people can’t resisit chopping up a chicken and chucking it onto pasta (see what I did there?), so this one’s for you. And to be honest too, the version I cooked was a bit of a ‘leftovers’ recipe, using about 2 large chicken breasts’ worth of meat from a roast chicken.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO
(scroll down for the full method)
gather the ingredients
chop the mushrooms
cook the mushrooms
cook the chicken
warm the cream, make sauce
boil the pasta
combine pasta and sauce
add chicken and mushrooms
pennoni with chicken and mushrooms
INGREDIENTS
FOR FOUR PEOPLE
270ml single cream substitute (Elmlea Single)
6 large fresh sage leaves
2 large chicken breasts
300g chestnut / flat mushrooms
black pepper, pecorino or parmesan to taste
PASTA
400g Pennoni / Fusilloni
MANTECATURA (?)
none
METHOD
Cut the mushrooms into thin slices and fry in a tiny amount of EVO, turning regularly, until they are well coloured and golden, but obviously not burnt and crispy! Set them aside. If you’re using leftover chicken like I did, you need to start pre-warming it in a little weak chicken stock, so that it’s (1) warmed thoroughly and piping hot all the way through and (2) not too dry! You’ll be adding the chicken (torn into little pieces) to the rest of the sauce soon, so you don’t want it to be swimming around in liquid; it just needs to be piping hot and moist!
If you're cooking chicken from raw, cut the breasts in half horizontally to get a breast at least half the thickness of what was in the packet - it will cook quicker and stay more tender! Cook the chicken gently in a non-stick pan in EVO, salt and pepper, and a splash of white wine. When it's cooked set it aside and cut or tear into small pieces.
Chop some more fresh sage leaves finely while you boil and cook the pasta. Pour the single cream (or cream substitue!) into your Sauce Wok and warm it very gently. Don't let it boil. Add half the sage, some salt and black pepper, and taste. Adjust the balance of flavours to your liking but don’t go over the top with the sage!
As usual, when the pasta has just past 'al dente,' fish it out and add it to the cream. Stir, toss, mix and allow the pasta to combine and be coated by the cream sauce. When the pasta is just about cooked, add the chicken (which should still be hot from its pre-heating) and mix again. Make sure you don’t add too much water to the pasta, along with the chicken. Plate and serve immediately with more grated parmesan or pecorino, the mushrooms sprinkled onto each portion, and black pepper to taste.
NUTRITION per serving
KCAL: 546
Fat (g): 12.6
Sat Fat (g): 6.8
Carb (g): 75.3
Sug (g): 6.3
Fibre(g): 3.5
Prot (g): 32.2
Salt (g): 0.27
