Chicken Tasso Creamy Pasta
Ingredients
- 125 g pasta
- 1/2 lb chicken breast (smoked if available; trimmed and cut into about 1" cubes)
- 3 T minced chipotle pepper (or 1T dried chipotle powder)
- 1/2 T dried ancho chile powder (or 1/2t chili powder and 1t paprika (smoked if available))
- 1/2 t dried cilantro
- 1/4 t ground cumin
- 1/4 t Salt (Table) (to taste)
- 1/8 t ground black pepper (to taste)
- 2 T Flour (Plain)
- 1 T butter
- 1/2 T olive oil
- 1/2 T butter (as needed)
- 2 T diced tasso
- 1/2 minced shallot
- 1 t minced garlic (preferably smoked)
- 1/2 c chicken stock (or a dry white wine)
- 1 c double cream (or whipping cream, but there's less chance of curdling with double cream)
- 1/2 t hot sauce (or more to taste, chipotle flavored if available)
Method
1. Start a pot of water boiling for the pasta. Put your plates in the oven to warm up.
2. Mix the chicken with the chipotle, ancho chile powder, cilantro, cumin, salt, and pepper. Allow the chicken to sit for a bit and come to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Do the rest of your prep work during this time.
3. Once everything is prepared, dredge the spiced chicken in the flour; start the pasta cooking.
4. Melt the 1T butter with the olive oil and brown the chicken on both sides, about 5 minutes total. The chicken should not cook through at this point. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
5. Add the additional butter, if needed, and saute the tasso until it is browned. Add the shallot and garlic; saute an additional minute.
6. When the pasta is cooked, drain it and return to the pot you cooked it in; cover to keep warm.
7. Deglaze the pan with the stock, stirring, and add the cream and hot sauce. Bring to a boil over medium heat and add the chicken back to the pan, including any juices. Simmer until it reaches desired consistency, then toss with cooked pasta.
Notes
SJ Note 4 Oct 2010: I can't believe I'm just getting around to entering this into the system, we must have had it a dozen times by now, tis quite a fabulous dish!