Sunday, February 21, 2010

Tagliatelle with Chicken, Pine Nuts & Sultanas

We LOVED this pasta!!! I took it on faith and tried this recipe. Faith, and I'm not kidding. Rosemary is not my favorite herb, chicken I can take or leave, and who ever heard of raisins (sultanas) in pasta?? So here is how this oddity arrived in our pasta bowls.... I was addicted to "Tyler Florence Fridays" (not just because he looks good in a sweater) and now since that site is basically over, it has been replaced with "I Heart Cooking Clubs" (see button in my blog). This week is Nigella Lawson's Potluck. Basically, you cook one of her recipes and submit it. Since I have never tried any of her recipes, this seems like a good time, what the heck? It was delicious! I'm not kidding, REALLY delicious!! The combination of the sweet and savory was divine. Super quick (and cheap) to put together. The fresh flavors really popped!

Tagliatelle with Chicken adapted from Nigella Lawson

1 (3-1/2 pound) chicken, (I used 3 large chicken breasts)
2 Tbls extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Leaves from 3 rosemary sprigs, finely minced
1/3 C sultanas (raisins), soaked in warm water for 30 minutes
1/2 C pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 pound tagliatelle
2 to 3 Tbls chopped parsley leaves
Preheat the oven 350 degrees.
Rub the chicken with the oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper, then place it in roasting pan and for about 1 hour, or until well browned (if using whole chicken, adjust cooking time accordingly). It's done with the juices run clear, not pink, when you cut into it. When the chicken is nearly ready, put abundant water on for the pasta, salting it when it boils.
Take the chicken out of the oven and roughly cut into small pieces. If you can take the heat, try just pulling it apart, without a knife. Nigella stresses here to keep and serve the pieces with the beautiful crisp brown skin attached!
For the sauce, pour all the juices from the roasting pan into a small saucepan. Add the rosemary, the drained sultanas and the pine nuts. Begin to simmer the sauce when you are ready to cook the pasta. (I added a little more olive oil and a small pat of butter since I didn't have the amount of pan juices I would have, had I used a whole chicken cut up). This sauces smells amazing!
Cook and drain the pasta, and toss it with the sauce, chicken pieces, and parsley in a large warmed bowl.
Serves 4 (or 2, with me going back for seconds) Shockingly good!

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19 comments:

  1. That sounds totally delicious to me, I love rosemary and chicken and tagliatelle is my favourite kind of pasta. Delicious!
    I am adding you to the blogroll and putting your beautiful button on the IHCC sidebar.
    Cheers!

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  2. Am here from IHCC too, yeah i love potluck and ur lovely pasta is real good...i think i will try this one soon for one of our themes...cheers and u surely do have a beautiful button !!!!

    WOnderful sunday to ya!!!

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  3. I love the name of your blog - so cute! This sounds like a wonderful pasta dish. I'm glad to hear you liked all the combinations:D

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  4. So happy to have you with us at IHCC! ;-) The pasta looks delicious and I am finding that I like raisins in things I wouldn't think I would like them in. Great pick!

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  5. This sounds amazing! The additions of pine nuts & raisins is very intriguing, I can't wait to try!

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  6. I can see how this would work, and taste delicious. It really takes the typical pasta to another level with the sweet and nutty flavors.

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  7. This is an awesome dish I love the idea of the pine nuts and the raisins. very nice.

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  8. What an interest combination of flavors! I picked up a used copy of Tyler's Ultimate at a thrift store - it was 50% off - can't wait to try some of the recipes! :D

    Happy Monday Chica!

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  9. I do love Tyler Florence, I mean his cooking, and him in a sweater. Everything of his I have made, we have really enjoyed, especially his Osso Bucco.

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  10. Hey Gorgeous Leslie.. where is the pic of you with your 'super cute bob' ???

    Your blog looks very fancy ... I am drooling looking at your food!!

    But as I am such a tragic cook it is probably a form of self- flagellation in the fact that i have followed you..or maybe by looking at your awesome recipes I might 'absorb' some of your culinary mastery!

    Cheers , Helen xxx

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  11. What a lovely recipe. I don't have any of Nigella's cookbooks but I have some of Tyler's books. I love the combination of sultanas and pine nuts.
    Sam

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  12. Helen, you are NUTS!!! Thank you! ~LeslieMichele

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  13. Hmm, ok, it does sound kind of brave to put raisins in pasta - but it also sounds delish! And very Nigella. And since Nigella never seems to let me down with her recipes, and your pasta looks so tasty, I am going to hav eto giv ethis a shot! Thanks!

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  14. Une autre recette de poulet qui me plait beaucoup.
    je la note.
    A bientôt.

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  15. Although the ingredients do sound a bit odd but I must say it sounds very interesting to try it.

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  16. I agree! Tyler Florence DOES look good in a sweater! Yum! And this dish looks out of this world - I would NEVER have thought about adding raisins to a pasta dish, but Nigella Lawson has something about raisins. I've found her intuition about raisins in certain dishes is spot on, so I'll try this for sure! Thanks for sharing.

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  17. I have a prise for you on my blog.
    See soon.

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  18. This pasta is splendid with chucks of chicken, sweet raisins and pinenuts that add a delicate crunch. Delicious!

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I'm so glad you stopped by and I can't wait to read your comments. I will stop by your blog shortly!