Author Notes
In the mood for pasta, I was rummaging in my fridge and saw shredded rotisserie chicken, fennel and a bit of mascarpone. Some random flash of old reminded me that I’d once seen a dish with pasta, chicken and currants. YES! So, I sauteed some garlic, fennel and currants in some olive oil, salted it well, added a healthy dash of cinnamon and some chicken, sauteed some more, deglazed with some of the white wine I was drinking and kept warm.
In the meantime, in super-well-salted water, I cooked some whole wheat spaghetti until al dente, reserved 1/2 cup of cooking water, and then tossed the pasta, a nice knob of mascarpone and about 1/4 c cooking water into the fennel-chicken mixture. I stirred/cooked it all over low heat, adding a bit more cooking water as I went to keep it vaguely saucy, and served with freshly grated parmesan and some chopped fennel fronds on top. DIVINE! —em-i-lis
Ingredients
-
2 tablespoons
extra-virgin olive oil
-
1
large (!) clove of garlic, peeled and minced
-
1/3 cup
fennel, diced, some fronds (a generous tablespoon or so) chopped and reserved
-
3 tablespoons
dried currants
-
Splash
white wine
-
1/2 cup
shredded roast chicken
-
salt
-
3/4 teaspoon
cinnamon (more if you need)
-
3-4 tablespoons
mascarpone
-
whole wheat spaghetti
-
freshly grated Parmesan
Directions
-
In a 4-quart pot, heat to a boil some well-salted water. Add enough whole wheat spaghetti for 1-2 people (one large entree, or two smaller portions).
-
In the meantime, over medium heat in a large skillet, heat the olive oil. When the oil is warm, add the fennel, garlic and currants. Stir until fragrant and starting to soften, a few minutes. Add a healthy dash of cinnamon and the chicken and stir to combine. If you are drinking white wine or have some, deglaze the pan with a generous splash. Turn heat to low and keep mixture warm.
-
When the pasta is al dente, scoop out and reserve about 1/2 c of cooking liquid. Drain the pasta and add to the skillet with the fennel-chicken mixture. Add the mascarpone and ~1/4 c of cooking liquid. When the mascarpone gets creamy and incorporates, check the sauciness factor and add more reserved cooking water if you'd like.
-
When the pasta is warm and the sauciness is to your liking, pour into a serving bowl and grate some fresh parmesan over the top. Toss to combine and then sprinkle the reserved, chopped fennel fronds over the pasta.
See what other Food52ers are saying.