Weeknight Series- Light Chicken and Pasta

So for this week’s post, I’m focusing again on something lighter, faster and easier to cook. What I want to get across in this post is that just because something is made lighter, even with slightly healthier options (ugh), food can still be made to be very delicious, as long as you work on highlighting the flavors present in the simple ingredients in front of you. Additionally, understanding cultural ingredients that serve as the base of flavor profile in a cuisine is vital, and can help make any leftover pantry ingredients be transformed into an elegant, flavorful, and satisfying dish. The French term for these base ingredients is “Mirepoix,” and according to my French-fluent mother, it simply refers to what it is: a place to start. In French cooking, mirepoix consists of onions, carrots, and celery. These are the base flavor profile that are in any French sauce, stock, marinade, etc. Every culture has this, their main base of ingredients that no respectable kitchen would be caught dead without. In cajun cooking, its celery, onions, and bell pepper. Chinese cooking relies on garlic, ginger, and scallions, whereas Thai cooking needs to begin with garlic, cilantro, lemongrass, and bird's eye chili. Understanding mirepoix helps to add to the cohesion of a dish. When base flavors work together, it becomes very easy to get creative and get cooking!

Now, I should go back to French mirepoix. While you should start sauces and such with those three hallowed vegetables, it is also important to know the other ubiquitous flavors of that region. If I plan on cooking French-style food, I would be hard pressed to not include dijon mustard, red wine/balsamic/sherry vinegar, a deep red cooking wine, lemon juice, butter, and a spice mix called Herbs de Provence, which consist of thyme, rosemary, marjoram, mint, and sage. I marinated the chicken in dijon, chopped sage, salt, pepper, lemon juice, Balsamic vinegar, sherry vinegar, white wine vinegar, chopped parsley, and honey. This marinade is great for creating depth in the dish, as well as tenderizing and flavoring the chicken. In order to cook this, start with letting the chicken come up to room temp. Get a high walled pot, one large enough to fit the entire amount of food. The great thing about this dish is that it comes together in one cooking vessel, because we’ll be cooking in the pasta entirely in the sauce. Begin by searing the chicken. Once that’s cooked about 90% of the way through, remove the chicken and add the onions, carrots, mushrooms, and celery, in that order. Cook until softened, and season liberally with salt, pepper, and herbs de Provence. Remember- we’re going to eventually cook pasta in this concoction, so it should be fairly salty. If you want a little kick, you can additionally season with cayenne and paprika (for warmth). Once those are softened, add a quart of chicken stock. If you have homemade, this is an excellent time to use it, because the flavor of the stock will be imbued into the pasta and will really shine in this dish. Also, homemade stock will have a more chicken-forward flavor, especially if you’ve made it by roasting the bones, etc. Obviously most people do not have homemade stock, so whatever you can get your hands on is fine. However, I think that stock adds so much to this dish both in flavor and body due to the added collagen in the stock. If you have no access to chicken stock, water will work in a pinch, but you need to make sure you are adding more flavor to the rest of the dish. Not necessarily with salt, as chicken stock is not salted, but with the other flavoring agents. 

Bring to a boil, drop your pasta, and cook through! Once the pasta is cooked, drown it in parmesan until you get the thickness of your sauce to how you want it.

I love adding more greens to this dish, and my preferred method is simple creamed spinach, which is really nothing more than spinach, sautéed in butter, garlic, and shallot, seasoned with salt, and mixed with a bit of mascarpone cheese. The cheese is optional, but it makes it creamy, a bit funky, and delicious!

When you have all of your components ready, slice the chicken into strips and add back to the pot to warm through. Plate up, and garnish with thinly sliced sage, mint, or parsley. Sprinkle with parmesan over top, and you’ve got yourself an easy, simple, and utterly delicious meal that all comes together in one pot! Remember how to use ingredients that play well together, and you can take on the world!