Chicken Tetrazzini

Chicken Tetrazzini from Justine Pattison is apparently an American hybrid recipe. I don’t know what that means but it tastes pretty good, though does require many ingredients and some patience when putting it together.

Creamy chicken, topped with vegetables, breadcrumbs, cheese and spaghetti seems a bit weird to me. But after shoving my lasagne dish under the grill for 5 minutes to crisp up and turn golden brown all was forgiven. I get it now, kind of. This recipe serves 6 for 339 calories per serving, but that’s stretching it somewhat. You might be better dividing this between 4 portions and factoring in the extra calories. Naughty, naughty :-).

Recipe: Chicken Tetrazzini

Calories: 339 per serving

Serves: 6

Book: Justine Pattison: Without the Calories – Comfort Food

Prep time: Approx 25 mins

Cooking time: Approx 25 mins

Ingredients:

• 200g dried linguine or spaghetti
• oil, for spraying or brushing
• 25g butter
• 1 small onion (finely chopped)
• 1 celery stick (thinly sliced)
• 2 garlic cloves (crushed)
• 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 40g plain flour
• 100ml white wine
• 500ml chicken stock (made with 1 chicken stock cube)
• 200g button mushrooms (sliced)
• 3 tbsp single cream
• 150g frozen peas
• 75ml semi skimmed milk
• 300g skinless, cooked chicken breasts (cut into 2.5cm chunks)
• 20g dried coarse breadcrumbs or panko breadcrumbs
• 25 parmesan cheese (finely grated)

Cost per portion: Approx £1.02

Method:

Half fill a large saucepan with water and bring to the boil over a high heat. Cook the pasta in the boiling water for 10-15 minutes or until only just tender. Drain in a colander and spray with a little of the oil to stop it sticking, then return to the pan.

While the pasta is boiling, melt the butter in a large non-stick saucepan and gently cook the onion, celery, garlic and thyme for 5 minutes, or until the onion is well softened but not coloured, stirring regularly.

Sprinkle the flour over the sauteed onion and garlic and stir well. Slowly add the wine, then the stock, stirring continuously to avoid any lumps. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Meanwhile, spray or brush a large non-stick frying pan or wok with oil and stir-fry the mushrooms for 3-4 minutes over a high heat until lightly browned.

Stir the mushrooms, cream, peas and milk and chicken into the sauce and cook for a further 2-3 minutes more, stirring until hot. Tip onto the drained pasta and toss well together. Transfer to a warmed, shallow flameproof lasagne dish.

Mix the breadcrumbs and Parmesan together and sprinkle over the top of the pasta. Cook under a preheated hot grill for 5-10 minutes or until golden brown.