Chicken and Mushroom Ragù
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I know, I know…when you think of summertime, odds are you don’t exactly think of warm, comforting dishes like ragù. But personally, I could eat hearty comfort foods year round. I’d eat soup every day and never get sick of it – as long as I’m indoors and air conditioned, that is. 🙂
I’ve had this saved from Erin’s blog for quite some time, and I’m so glad I finally got around to making it. As you can probably tell, I didn’t use pappardelle. Neither the grocery store nor the specialty/ethnic store had any. Same goes with arugula (I used spinach instead). What gives? I don’t tpically have problems finding either of those ingredients. At any rate, this is such a delicious pasta dish. The balsamic vinegar adds just a touch of sweetness without overpowering the dish at all, and all the flavor of the rosemary is subtle and makes this even more earthy. Of course, you know how much I adore the chicken thigh. I really wish more people did, too. Embrace the chicken thigh, all you white meat people! It’s so tender and much more flavorful, especially in dishes like this.
I’ll definitely be making this again – it’s so easy and delicious!
Pappardelle with Chicken and Mushroom Ragù
Serves 4
8 oz. cremini mushrooms
3 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1.25 lbs. boneless/skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2″ pieces
1 small onion, chopped
3/4 tsp. chopped rosemary
3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 (28 oz.) can whole peeled tomatoes
1/2 lb. pappardelle or fettucini
5 oz. baby arugula or spinach
Finely chop the mushrooms and mince the garlic, or put together into a food processor and pulse until combined.
Heat the oil in a saute pan/skillet over medium-high heat until shimmery. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to the hot oil. Cook until just golden, about 3 minutes, and remove from pan with a slotted spoon.
Reduce heat to medium and cook the onion, about 3 minutes.
Add mushroom and garlic mixture, rosemary, and salt and pepper. Stir constantly until beginning to brown, about 4 minutes.
Add vinegar and cook until evaporated. Add chicken and tomatoes (with juice) and simmer, breaking up tomatoes with a spoon and stirring occasionally, until thick – about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente.
Add arugula to the sauce and stir until just wilted. Add the drained pasta and cook for 1 minute.
Adapted from Gourmet
I am a total comfort food junkie too…even when it’s 85 outside, I bookmark recipes for casseroles and my husband has to remind me that turning on the oven will make the entire evening hot and unpleasant!
I’m starting to like pasta more these days so I think I’ll definitely be trying a vegetarian version of this sometime soon!
Nice pasta dish…so tasty with the mushsoom and chicken…nice picture as well 🙂
Yum, this looks delicious and full of flavour.
That camera was in the right place at the right time..perfect shot! Love the comfort you get from making and eating a ragu!!
Look at the team rising fom that dish. Buy the time we are finished photographing our dishes they are usually cold:D
Love the shot and they way you captured the steam. I’m with you…as long as we have the a/c blasting, there’s no reason to give up pasta and other comfort foods.
Oh, I’d forgotten how good this was. It’s all about those chicken thighs! This would be total crap with white meat. Glad you liked it!
This looks great! I have made something like this before and wasn’t especially happy with it but your version looks great, I think I need to try it again!
Sometimes we get a cool, rainy summer day and a hot pasta dish like this hits the spot. I’m diggin’ the steam rise up from the dish.
I made this the other night and we loved it. Such a great flavor, maybe because of the balsamic?
I used air-chilled boneless breasts /aka white meat — and it definitely was not “crap”!
I love how you were able to capture the steam rising. What a beautiful shot. Pasta looks yummy too!
I recently made this and we both loved it. Perfect. The picture is amazing too!