Smoked Chicken Pesto Pasta - Nailed

Chicken pesto pasta is a classic, first made for Si and I by G - who used to whip up and serve an amazing casserole dish of this delicious pasta for parties in Abu Dhabi. I believe over the past little while, the whole KC household in AD are on the bandwagon and Dad has started making his own pesto for the dish. I had a play today and officially nailed my 'personal best' chicken pesto pasta. It sound a bit complex but its really not...

I smoked my own chicken while I was doing the dishes (no dishwasher!), literally took 20 minutes. 3 of work, 17 of doing dishes.


The Smoked Chicken


Make a wee bowl out of tinfoil, double layers is best, just the right size to fit into the bottom of a pot. Inside the bowl add

• 50gm brown sugar 
• 25gm loose leaf jasmine tea 
• 75gm jasmine rice (uncooked) and mix. 

Place the bowl in the bottom of an empty put and put over medium heat until the tea starts to smoke. Turn the heat right down, place a rack over the tin-bowl (our microwave oven rack fits perfectly into our pot, luckily - you might need to improvise to make this work), place two raw chicken breasts on the rack and cover with the lid. Leave for 15 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.

The Pesto


'Pesto' is a derivation of the italian word for 'pounded'. Seriously, like all herbs, pesto gets its amazing flavour when you POUND the herb, not cut it. So unless you are going to mortar and pestle this - you're going to bastardise the recipe as much as the dudes to put it in a jar the supie. Don't blend, process or anything with a blade as you won't get the amazing 'bruised' fragrance and flavour.

• a handful of finely grated parmesan cheese 
• about 30gm pine nuts 
• 2 small cloves of garlic 
• as many basil leaves as you can fit into the mortar (a few cups) 
• A big drizzle of olive oil 
• A pinch of course salt 

Take to it with a pestle until it becomes a broken down paste - you know how it should look. I like to throw in more and more basil leaves as I go to bulk it up. It should go quite creamy too with the olive oil and nuts. When I made it today, the whole house smelled of basil - devine! It keeps in the fridge for up to 2 weeks but be aware that the garlic taste will get stronger with time.


The Pasta dough recipe is here but today we just used bought fresh pappardelle from the supermarket - couldn't be bothered!


The Dish


You need:

• 1 large onion, chopped 
• 2 red chillies, chopped 
• Cup - (+1/2) white wine (chardonnay is good) 
• 10-15 mushrooms 
• 1 knorrs chicken stock pot 
• 2 tablespoons sour cream 
• Pasta 
• Toasted pinenuts
• Pesto (about 4 tablespoons) 
• Smoked chicken (thinly sliced) 
• Fresh rocket

Fry the onion, chilli and mushrooms in a pan until the onion is caramelised. Add the glass of wine and chicken stock put with 1/2 cup water and allow to simmer until reduced by 50% (or mushrooms are cooked).


Leave to cool as you bring a pot of salty water to the boil.


Once cooled down a little, the stock, veg and juice should be rather thick. Add the pesto and sour cream. Stir and then lay the chicken slices into the pan, turning the mixture (not stirring so as to hold the chicken in nice slices) warm up slowly. Add your pasta to the boiling water. When the chicken and sauce reaches a simmer, turn off heat.


Once the pasta is done, pour off most of the water, leaving a few tablespoons in the bottom. Cut in 1/2 tablespoon of butter and then add to the chicken and sauce. Gently flip to mix and finely grate a little more parmesan over the dish. Add the pinenuts and throw in several large handfuls of rocket and gently flip again encouraging the rocket to wilt a little before serving.


Enjoy :)

Sarah and Simons Silky Pasta Dough Recipe

Using 3 cups of plain flour and 1 teaspoon of salt, make a wee mountain on the bench. Make a well and add four eggs and two tablespoons of olive oil. Gradually mix using your fingers, taking a tiny bit of flour from the walls without letting the liquid escape. Once combined, work the dough hard-nuts until it becomes a very silky dough that holds its form. Wrap the dough in gladwrap and leave to sit for at least 1/2 an hour to allow the gluton to relax.


Cut the ball in half and rewrap one half to prevent the dough from drying. Flour the bench and form the ball into a flat rectangle and run through the pasta maker on the widest setting. Keep processing the dough until you reach the smallest width, then fold the length in half as many times as you can before repeating the processing cycle. This helps to work the dough and keep it silky.

Dry the dough for as long as you like.

Dad's Fettuccine with Roman Style Meat Sauce

(for Anna)

1 onion, finely chopped
1 small carrot, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
75g bacon, rind removed, finely chopped
50g butter, plus extra to toss through pasta
300g prime minced beef
salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
freshly grated nutmeg
100g chicken livers, rinsed, trimmed and finely chopped
75ml dry red wine
600g canned italian tomatoes, mashed
1 1/2 tablespoons italian tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
500g fettuccine
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Put onion, carrot, celery and bacon in a saucepan with the butter. Fry gently until the onion is a pale golden colour. Increase the heat to high and add the minced beef. Break the beef up with a fork and cook until it loses its pinkness. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, some pepper and some nutmeg. Add the chicken livers and cook for two minutes more.

Turn the heat down to medium, stir in the wine and cook until it has evaporated. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar and oregano. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and cook gently, uncovered for 30 minutes. Partially cover with a lid and cook for 15-30 minutes more, stirring occasionally, until rich and thick.

Cook the pasta in plenty of gently boiling, well-salted water until al dente. Drain briefly and turn into a heated serving dish. Quickly toss a large knob of butter through, then pour the sauce over (dont toss). Serve immediately with cheese.

Dad's Spaghetti PUTTANESCA

50ml extra virgin olive oil (or however much you like)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
75g can anchovies, drained and mashed
½ tsp crushed chili – more to taste and maybe cayenne pepper if you like it hot!
600g canned tomatoes, mashed
2 tbsp tomato paste – I use more sometimes and balance it with a little sugar if necessary
1 tbsp capers
1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
Salt, pepper
50g black olives, chopped
500g spaghetti (or penne, rigatoni)
Shaved /grated parmesan

First, put on water for pasta – remember: Start with cold water and add rock salt after it begins boiling.
Sauté garlic in olive oil, stir in anchovies and crushed chili. Add tomatoes, paste, capers, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring sauce to the boil, and cook gently, stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes. Add olives.
Cook pasta until al dente. Drain and place in serving dish. Add ¾ sauce and toss together and top with remaining sauce. Serve immediately with parmesan cheese and lots of parsley.
Enjoy!

Mums Favourite Chicken Rigatoni

1 tbsp olive oil
40gm butter
1 kg chicken fillets, sliced
500gm rigatoni pasta
200gm button mushrooms, sliced
4 green shallots sliced
600ml light thickened cream
1 tbsp seeded mustard
¼ cup chopped fresh chives
Salt and pepper
½ cup parmesan cheese

Heat oil and ½ the butter and brown chicken in batches.
Remove from the pan
Cook pasta in uncovered salted water and drain.
Add remaining butter to frypan, cook mushrooms, garlic and onions and add chicken.
Add cream and mustard,, simmer until chicken warmed through, stir in chives, salt & pepper.
Add pasta and parmesan cheese.