Chicken and Vegetable Pasta

Pasta to ward off the corona blues

I find myself gravitating toward pasta as the world contracts around me. It is my dinner of choice, comforting and connecting me to a gentler world held together with the fragrance of fresh chiffonade basil and slow simmering tomatoes. My eyes close as I breathe in aromas that bring a flood of memories and conquer quarantine reality: an afternoon in Umbria perusing a menu with Dearest in a quaint trattoria; boisterous family dinners laughing as we slurp spaghetti and sop up the sauce with garlic bread; friends seated at a table discussing world events not centered on Coronavirus. 

Sequestered in my fourth floor VRBO walk-up (steep Dutch stairs), in the De Pijp neighborhood of what should be pulsating and thrilling Amsterdam, I am mostly alone. I arrived here to set up my new life exactly three days before all the restaurants, bars, brothels, and pot shops were shuttered. The government reopened the pot shops, deeming them essential. Thank goodness wine stores and toy shops are also essential. I confess, I have joined the official ranks of a hoarder: I have enough Barolo and 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzles to get me through Armageddon.

Rituals and habits have evolved as I navigate this new world order. I have learned that all the things I thought I’d do if “only I had time” are not getting done. Instead I eat chocolate, ride my bike through semi-deserted streets, and prepare myself a multicourse dinner each night worthy of the excellent Barolo. I shop the ever-shrinking Albert Cuyp Market for fresh produce, bike to my favorite meat shop, and even brave the Jumbo City grocery store that finally, two days ago, began wiping the carts with disinfectant. While my recently-purchased apartment is undergoing a total renovation, I am practically camping out in my VRBO. It is sparsely equipped for tourists who dine out—bare bones with a small counter, poor lighting, dull knives, cheap pots, and a lot of wine glasses. I’ve grown to love it.

I cook meals with secondary meals in mind—a whole new concept for me, a person known for abhorring leftovers and always sending them home with guests. Now I roast a whole chicken knowing I’ll dine on the thighs, use the breast meat in lunch sandwiches, a Cobb Salad, or the pasta I am now sharing with you. I use the bones for stock, which then becomes a soup with a small amount going into the pasta sauce. You can start with an uncooked chicken breast if you do not have leftovers. Just gently sauté it before chunking it and adding to the pan.

I want to mention the Dutch and their dairy products. Over the last decades, the Dutch have grown into being the tallest people in the world due to their love of milk and cheese. They also love their cows, giving them lush pasture lands and warm barns. The cows that I have seen (I freely admit that I love riding my bike in the flat countryside gazing at cows) do look content. Dutch milk, cream, cheese, and butter are so delicious that I invent dishes—such as this one— just to use them. 

Pasta to Ward Off Corona Blues

Serves 2

6 ounces pasta—either spaghetti, linguini, or bowtie
4 broccoli florets, trimmed and halved
½ cup fresh peas
10 stalks asparagus, trimmed then halved
1 cup baby spinach
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon red chile pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt and pepper
4 large mushroom caps, sliced in half then cross sliced 
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 precooked and chopped skinless chicken breast
2 tablespoons pine nuts
¼ cup chicken stock
¾ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
1/3 cup (or more to taste) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add 2 generous tablespoons of salt and then the pasta. Cook until al dente, between 9 and 15 minutes depending on pasta and altitude. Meanwhile, place the prepared vegetables on a plate. Keep your eye on the pasta as you’ll need to add the prepared vegetables in stages, see Step 5.

2. Melt the butter and olive oil in a skillet large enough to hold the finished pasta. Add the chile pepper flakes, salt and pepper, and mushroom caps. Toss the pan and cook for a minute or two. Add the garlic and toss. Regulate the heat so the garlic doesn’t brown. The aroma of the garlic should make you hungry! (It supposedly keeps vampires at bay, so maybe it helps with Corona too?) After 3 or 4 minutes, add the chicken breast and pine nuts. Toss some more and cook until pine nuts begin to brown. Add chicken stock, turn up heat and boil until chicken stock is reduced by a third or so.

3. Add the cream to the skillet and toss. Turn heat to medium to maintain a steady simmer and let it reduce. If the sauce begins to get too thick, remove it from heat. 

4. Beginning about 4 minutes before you feel the pasta will be finished cooking, add the broccoli to the pot, then a minute later the peas, then 2 minutes later the asparagus and spinach. The spinach and asparagus only need a 30 second boil.

5. Drain the pasta, reserving a ½ cup of the liquid in case the sauce is too thick. Dump pasta in with sauce, toss all together. Add parsley, basil, and half the cheese. Add small amounts of pasta water if too thick. Taste for salt and pepper. Plate and sprinkle on more cheese.

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Title Photo:© AKPhotographer