Description
A delicious creamy pasta dish with chicken, spinach, and mushrooms.
Ingredients
Scale
- 10 ½ oz (300g) dried pasta (penne or rigatoni)
- 1½ tsp salt
- 6 skinless and boneless chicken thighs
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 large shallots (or 1 small sweet onion, finely diced)
- 2 medium leeks (white and light green parts, finely diced)
- 1 cup (120g) mushrooms (sliced)
- 3 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 1 tsp mustard powder (or Dijon mustard)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp grated nutmeg (freshly grated, ideally)
- ½ cup (125ml) chicken stock (or broth)
- 6 cups (240g) fresh baby spinach (shredded)
- ½ cup (120ml) cream (heavy / double)
- 4 tbsp grated parmesan cheese (plus extra to serve)
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- pinch red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to the boil, add the salt and your choice of pasta and cook according to pack instructions or until al dente. Set a timer – you will be making the creamy chicken spinach sauce as it cooks!
- Drain the pasta, reserving some of the starchy pasta water.
- Trim the chicken of any fatty bits and cut into bite-size pieces. Season with salt and pepper and set aside for now.
- Heat olive oil and butter in a large deep skillet or Dutch oven. Sauté the shallots and leeks over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms and cook for a couple of minutes then stir in the garlic.
- Push the vegetables to one side and add the diced chicken, garlic powder, mustard powder and nutmeg. Turn up the heat to medium and brown the chicken for a few minutes.
- Add the chicken stock and bring to a gentle simmer, cooking for 5 minutes or so.
- Stir in fresh spinach until it starts to wilt, then add the cream and simmer gently over low heat until slightly thickened. Stir in some of the reserved pasta water if you want to cut down on the amount of cream in the sauce – the starch released from the pasta will make it silky and delicious.
- Add the grated parmesan and mix well.
Notes
- Feel free to add extra vegetables such as bell peppers or zucchini.
- For a spicier dish, increase the amount of red pepper flakes.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 plate
- Calories: 600
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 800mg
- Fat: 30g
- Saturated Fat: 15g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 60g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 35g
- Cholesterol: 150mg