Last semester, one of my favorite recipes that I made was creamy Tuscan chicken. The best part was the sauce so, this week, I wanted to try the sauce on pasta instead of over rice or by itself. So, let’s see how this goes.
For this, I used two chicken thighs, but this can be any chicken cut. Add salt, pepper, paprika, oregano, garlic powder, and onion powder to the chicken.
With this combo, you can’t go wrong with the flavor of the chicken. Add them to the pan at medium-high heat. The cook on the chicken depends on the thickness, but I cooked them for six minutes skin-side down and five minutes on the non-skin side.
I cooked them at different times because skin on meat, whether it is chicken or fish, gives the interior protection against heat. Therefore, it needs to spend longer on the heat so it can penetrate inwards and cook the inside.
Remove the chicken once cooked. Turn the heat to medium and add a finely diced onion and half a tablespoon of garlic. Sauté the onions until translucent. The last Tuscan chicken recipe called for white wine, but I did not have any, so I added chicken stock and a few drops of lemon juice instead. This picks up any burnt bits from the chicken and shares the flavor with the onions.
Cut up cherry tomatoes into halves and add them to the pan until they soften and release their sweetness. Let this cook for about one to two minutes. Then, add in about three- quarters of a cup of heavy cream and turn the heat down to medium-low, but closer to medium.
Chop up roughly five to six sun-dried tomatoes and add this in with a small drizzle of oil from the container for more tomato flavor. The sun-dried tomatoes and oil are where the flavor profile of the sauce comes through. Grate in parmesan cheese, add some spinach leaves, and then cover for about 10 minutes to thicken.
Add the chicken back in for about five minutes and boil the pasta simultaneously. I used penne so the sauce could get stuck in the middle and stick to the pasta. This is also where you can get more creative with seasoning to taste. I ended up adding more oregano, salt, and onion powder to combat the mellowed flavor of the heavy cream. I also wanted some heat in the sauce, so I added a dash of red chili flakes.
Before adding the pasta to the sauce, add pasta water so it sticks to the pasta better. It thins out the sauce a little, so do not add too much water.
Once you have everything ready, combine it all. I used bone-in chicken thighs so I could not cut them into strips, but if you used chicken breasts, cut them into strips to make it easier to combine with the pasta.
This was a terrific and easy weeknight meal. The ingredients were very cheap, it made use of common household spices, and it left room for creativity with flavoring. I think this would also make for a great pasta-night dish to compete against your bologneses and carbonaras.
Even better, now that we are on the brink of spring break, go impress your family with your new cooking skills using this recipe. This comfortably fed four people, so it can also be used for meal prep or at a dinner party. Happy cooking!
Ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon oregano
A dash of chili flakes
4 chicken breasts or thighs
1/4 cup chicken stock or white wine
1 pound of pasta
340 grams of cherry tomatoes
A handful of spinach
3/4 cup heavy cream
5 to 6 sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 tbsp garlic
1 small yellow onion
Rating: 4.7/5
Price: $26.18