ONE-POT PASTA (That thinks it’s risotto!)
The secret to the silkiest pasta sauces is not oil, cheese or even copious amounts of butter and cream. It’s the starchy water the pasta cooks in, which, when added back to the pan after draining, binds and melds the ingredients during their final simmer.
This recipe shows us how to harness that starchiness in this week’s creamy one-pot pasta with chicken and mushrooms. Its velvety texture comes from cooking the pasta like a risotto, gradually adding broth and wine and stirring often to release its starch.
The recipe
One-Pot Pasta with Chicken & Mushrooms
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, more as needed
- 1 shallot or small onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 cups shiitake or button mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and sliced
- 250 grams dried pasta - like penne
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup dry white wine or water
- 3 to 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 2 boneless chicken thighs, diced
- Chopped fresh parsley
- Freshly grated Parmesan
Method
- Put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. When hot, add shallot, garlic and mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms soften and begin to brown on edges, about 10 minutes. Add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is glossy and coated with oil, 2 to 3 minutes. Add a little salt and pepper, then wine. Stir and let liquid bubble away.
- Ladle stock into skillet ½ cup or so at a time, stirring after each addition and every minute or so. When liquid is just about evaporated, add more. Mixture should be neither soupy nor dry. Keep heat at medium and stir frequently.
- Begin tasting pasta 10 minutes after you add it; you want it to be tender but with a tiny bit of crunch. When pasta is about 3 to 4 minutes away from being done, add chicken and stir to combine. Continue to cook until chicken is done, it will be white on the inside when cut, and pasta is how you like it. Taste, adjust seasoning, garnish with parsley and parmesan and serve.
PenneBrothyMeat