This One-Pot Mediterranean Chicken Pasta Is the Ultimate Flavor Bomb
This one-pot meal is not your basic pasta. It cooks in just 30 minutes and leaves you with just one pot or Dutch oven to wash, but the rich sauce is as creamy as stove-top macaroni and cheese, and so full of lemon, garlic, capers, olives, and Parmesan cheese that it’s like taking a briny hit of umami right in the mouth. It’s pure comfort food, and if by some chance you happen to have leftovers, it’ll be the perfect next-day lunch.
Most pasta dishes have you cook the pasta in one pot and the sauce in another pan, then combine them together with a bit of pasta water to make the final dish. This one skips the second pan entirely to create an easy, one-pot meal without overcooking the pasta or ending up with a mushy mess.
According to the author, cooking the pasta directly in the chicken stock, butter, and cream results in a wonderfully smooth dish, because the starch from the pasta goes directly into the sauce, and none of it is wasted.
The idea of boiling cream might give a person pause, but the author says the recipe has been well-tested, and the cream should not curdle as long as you add it at the same time as the chicken stock, so the two liquids are always the same temperature. Substituting milk for the heavy cream does make the sauce more likely to curdle, though, so stick with the full-fat option.
Start by cooking chopped chicken breasts in a bit of olive oil until they’re browned on all sides, then add some butter to the pan and sauté some fresh, minced garlic until fragrant. Add chicken stock, heavy cream, and uncooked fettuccine noodles to the pot and let the liquid come to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer. As the sauce starts to come together and thicken from the boiling and the pasta starch, stir in the capers, olives, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and a whole fresh lemon, cut into slices. Let it simmer for a few more minutes to let the flavors mingle and the sauce thicken a bit more. When the noodles are cooked the way you like them, return the browned chicken to the pan, and the dish is ready to serve.
Get the Recipe: One Pot Creamy Mediterranean Chicken Pasta from The Modern Proper
More Easy Chicken Recipes from Kitchn
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