Chicken Tetrazzini

It's been a very busy week for us preparing for the start of the summer season, so Mr. P and I have been eating lots of "quick 'n' easy" meals. We had the Moroccan Prawns with Spices again, also a simply grilled thick slice of rump steak that carved up did us for two meals with a big salad on the side, lots of steamed asparagus served with new potatoes boiled in their skins and lashings of butter, Delia's Pork Stroganoff with Three Mustards ... so nothing to blog about really and, in fact, no time or energy to do so.

Although we haven't eaten badly all week I wanted to prepare something more deeply satisfying for dinner tonight and was thinking to use the rest of the fresh lasagne sheets I had stored in a ziplock bag in the fridge and perhaps have a go at the spinach and ricotta lasagne recipe I've been thinking of concocting. Good thing I checked on them yesterday because even though they had an end of June use by date they were going mouldy. Next time, once opened, I will try storing them in the freezer I think. So this necessitated a quick change of plan. Still thinking along the lines of a pasta dish I opted for Giada's Chicken Tetrazzini from her book Family Dinners. I've made this before and it's wonderful, also it gives me a chance to use one of my new Revol ovenware dishes! Giada's recipe doesn't state how many it serves (I have the recipe but not the book), I would say 6 very hungry people or 8 if serving it with a starter, salad or dessert. For just Mr. P and myself I decided to make half the recipe. Working with American measurements I like to calculate the metric equivalents of things, particularly butter, I mean how much is 9 tablespoons of butter .... pleeeeze! Therefore I felt it might well be helpful for any non-Americans to leave my bracketed conversions in the ingredient list.

I cooked the chicken and mushrooms earlier in the day just to ease the load. I then covered the pan they were cooked in to be able to continue using it later for the white sauce, which I prepared whilst the pasta was cooking. Last time I made this dish I didn't have any Italian-style breadcrumbs, so I made my own. This time I used some Spanish-style breadcrumbs with parsley and garlic that I found in the local supermarket. I don't usually buy this kind of thing so I'll be interested to see how it compares with homemade.

This most certainly isn't a dish to make when you want something quick, it's a recipe for when you have a day to hang about in the kitchen and take your time. It's worth it though because the resulting dish is so deeply satisfying, on a par I would say with lasagne or macaroni cheese. The supermarket bought Spanish-style breadcrumbs were not bad at all and they certainly make life easier, I've still got the bigger part of the packet left so will be using them again.

This will most probably be the last time I make such a hearty dish until after the summer. It is quite hot here now and so easier and lighter food will be on the menu. Do give it a try though, it's delicious.

Chicken Tetrazzini

9 tablespoons (125g) butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 lb (450g) white mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup (125ml) dry white wine
1/3 cup (40g) all-purpose flour
4 cups (1 litre) whole milk, room temperature
1 cup (250ml) heavy whipping cream, room temperature
1 cup (250ml) chicken broth
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
12 ounces (335g) linguine
3/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup dried Italian-style breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 450ºF/230ºC.

Spread 1 tablespoon of butter over a 13 x 9 x 2-inch (32 x 22 x 5 cm, approximately 3.5 litre capacity) baking dish. Melt 1 tablespoon each of butter and oil in a deep large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the hot pan and cook until pale golden and just cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate to cool slightly. Coarsely shred the chicken into bite-size pieces and into a large bowl.

Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon each of butter and oil to the same pan. Add the mushrooms and sauté over medium-high heat until the liquid from the mushrooms evaporates and the mushrooms become pale golden, about 12 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme, and sauté until the onion is translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it evaporates, about 2 minutes. Transfer the mushroom mixture to the bowl with the chicken.

Melt 3 more tablespoons butter in the same pan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk, cream, broth, nutmeg, remaining 1 3/4 teaspoons salt, and remaining 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Increase the heat to high. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 10 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the linguine and cook until it is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 9 minutes. Drain. Add the linguine, sauce, peas, and parsley to the chicken mixture. Toss until the sauce coats the pasta and the mixture is well blended.

Transfer the pasta mixture to the prepared baking dish. Stir the cheese and breadcrumbs in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the pasta. Dot with the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Bake, uncovered, until golden brown on top and the sauce bubbles, about 25 minutes.

Cook's note: Leave the dish to cool off a bit before serving otherwise it's too hot to taste!