Weekend Herb Blogging: Tagliatelle with Chicken

This is a recipe that I turn to when I find myself rushing around frantically, barely able remember my name or where the car keys, phone or remote control are located.  A lot of swearing and screaming occurs.  Turning to fast food would seem like a total descent into incompetence. So, this recipe, which tastes wonderful, comforts my jangled nerves.   Nigella Lawson fans will surely recognize it.  The list of ingredients is short and easy, you simply toss shredded roasted chicken with raisins, pine nuts, and pasta.  Best of all, it has rosemary in it, perfect for Weekend Herb Blogging.  I think this is the first time in weeks that I've made a dish without cilantro or basil as the herb of choice.  Kalyn created Weekend Herb Blogging and she has lots of wonderful recipes submitted by loyal herb bloggers.  Go to her site  site, you will be amazed at what you find there.

Roasting your own chicken makes this recipe truly magnificent, so do that if you have the time. But, if you're rushed, a rotisserie chicken from the store works just fine, and turns this into a ten minute meal. Nigella specifies three springs of rosemary, which is a bit vague for me. I gradually added almost 1 teaspoon of the herb to the sauce, tasting as I did. Rosemary can make a dish taste like soap, if too much is added.  So, use some caution. 

Tagliatelle with Chicken  (Nigella Lawson from How to Eat)

3 1/2-pound chicken
2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly milled black pepper
Leaves from 3 rosemary sprigs, minced
1/3 cup of  golden raisins, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes
1/2 cup of pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 pound of tagliatelle
2-3 tablespoons of chopped parsley

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Rub the chicken with the oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper--then place it breast-down in a roasting pan and roast for about 1 1/2 hours or until well browned, turning it over toward the end to brown the breast. It's done when the juices run clear--not pink--when you cut into the thigh. When the chicken's nearly ready, put abundant water on for the pasta, salting it when it boils.

Take the chicken out of the oven and take the meat off the bone, leaving all that glorious burnished skin on, and cut it into small pieces or shred it with your fingers
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For the sauce, pour all the juices from the roasting pan into a saucepan. Add the rosemary, the drained sultanas and the pine nuts. Begin to simmer the sauce when you're ready to cook the pasta.

Cook and drain the pasta and toss it with the sauce, chicken pieces and parsley in a large warmed bowl. No cheese, please.

Comments

[kalyn]

Pine nuts, rosemary, and chicken! Sounds fantastic.

[steven]

I love the raisin/pine nut combination. A couple of weeks ago I had Skate lightly sauced with brown butter,currants and pine nuts with just a touch of vinegar to goose it. It was great.

[Shannon]

Yum!

[Glenna]

Again, YUM! I love all the wonderful things you do with pasta, which is of course my favorite thing in the whole world!

[sher]

Kalyn,

Thank you, it is good. Thanks to Nigella.

Steven,

That skate sounds delicious. I think pine nuts have an intriquing taste, they're a nut (or a seed?), but they have that creamy texture. And they go perfectly with sweet and sour notes.

Shannon & Glenna,

Yum indeed!!!! And Glenna--I KNOW that pasta is not your very favorite thing in the world. It's at least number 3! :)

[s'kat]

I'm often confused by directions such as those: 'three sprigs of rosemary', 1 bunch basil, 2 cloves of garlic....

Anyways, looks delish.

[sher]

s'kat,

Yes, and with herbs--if you use too much...ugh!