One Pot: Creamy Chicken Pasta with Pesto, Spinach, Sun-Dried Tomatoes

One Pot: Creamy Chicken Pasta with Pesto, Spinach, Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Category: Dishes from cereals and flour products

Kitchen: American

Ingredients
Butter or lean butter, gr.	50
Broiler chicken breast, pcs.	2
Garlic, cloves	2-3
Penne pasta (BARILLA), gr.	300
Water, glasses	2,5
Salt	taste
Pesto alla Genovese sauce (BARILLA), gr.	150-200
Creamy processed cheese (Viola, Valio), gr.	100
Sun-dried tomatoes in oil, net half 270 g jars	taste
Young spinach / baby, gr.	75
Ground black pepper	taste
Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, gr.	50-100, to taste

Cooking method

The author of the concept of dishes “One Pot” (or “One Pan”): “All in one pot / saucepan” is considered to be an American chef of Italian origin, who decided to prepare the pasta and ingredients for the sauce in one pan at the same time. This cooking method quickly gained popularity in the United States. Since then, many recipes have emerged, and All in One Pot / Pot dishes have become popular in Europe as well.

What are all-in-one-pot dishes? The recipes for these dishes usually contain carbohydrates, grains, or legumes (pasta, rice, quinoa, bulgur, beans, lentils, etc.). The technology for preparing such dishes consists in preparing all the ingredients contained in the recipe in one pan at once. If you are a big bummer, or new to the kitchen, you are short on time, or you just want to save money on washing dishes, this method is for you! It couldn't be easier: put all the ingredients of your recipe in one saucepan, add a little water, and let it simmer over low heat. Simple, fast, and delicious! And that is why Uzbek pilaf or Hungarian goulash or bograch is not One Pot, because it is not at all easy to cook, not fast, although in one cauldron ...

A more complex, but also fast, version of One Pot dishes involves pre-frying something in the same saucepan, before boiling it with carbohydrates. Specifically in this recipe, we first fry the chopped chicken breast in a saucepan, and then cook the pasta with it, adding the final ingredients at the very end. It's simple. At the beginning of the recipe, in the ingredients table, the products are arranged in the order they were added to the dish.

We put in a saucepan not coarsely chopped chicken breast or thighs, without bone and skin, add a little butter or vegetable oil, and fry over high heat. While roasting is in progress, clean and chop a few cloves of garlic in a garlic press. When the chicken pieces are just beginning to become crusty, reduce the heat to medium, add the crushed garlic, and fry for another couple of minutes until the smell of fresh garlic disappears.

We put dry paste, and pour everything with two and a half glasses of boiling water. Salt the contents, but without fanaticism, since the purchased pesto is usually quite salty, and the cream cheese is not bland at all.

You can dissolve one or two cubes of chicken broth earlier, or you don't have to. Boil the contents of the saucepan over medium heat under the lid, stirring every couple of minutes, and again closing the pan with the lid.

It will take a little longer to cook the pasta until al dente than just in water for the time indicated on the package. When the liquid remains a little we try the pasta - it should be exactly al dente - that is, it is still a little not ready. If the pasta is clearly undercooked, then boldly pour in a ladle of hot water, and continue stirring, no longer covering the saucepan with a lid.Here, do not forget about the wisdom from the kitchen of the student dormitory: "The potatoes begin to fry immediately after they have finished boiling." That is, all the liquid must not be allowed to evaporate, and the products must not burn to the bottom. In principle, it all depends on what kind of pasta, and how greedily she drinks the water. Therefore, different pastes will require adjustment of the liquid volume. But this is not at all scary: if the liquid is almost gone, and the pasta is not cooked, then add water, and if the pasta is already ready, and there is still a lot of liquid, then slowly evaporate the liquid, stirring.

Once the pasta has reached al dente, reduce the heat to low, add the pesto and cream cheese, and quickly stir the contents until the cream cheese is completely dissolved.

Then add sun-dried tomatoes cut into small pieces and pre-washed baby spinach. Turn off the heat, and stir the contents for a very short time, until the spinach withers - this will make it more convenient to eat. If there is an excess of Parmesan, you can add it to the saucepan. But the main share of Parmesan should go to sprinkle the dish on the plate - it will be more fragrant and tastier!


That's basically it! When serving, pepper the contents of the plate with allspice black pepper, and sprinkle with at least allspice parmesan, to taste. A delicious lunch or dinner for four is ready in about 30-35 minutes. And you only have to wash one pot ...

The dish is designed for

4 - 6 servings

Cooking program:

30-35 minutes

Note

And if the chicken in this recipe is replaced with thinly chopped fillets of salted red fish, then frying naturally will not be required - immediately cook the pasta with lightly salted salmon / salmon / pink salmon / trout, and then add cream cheese or heavy cream / sour cream, and then spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, parmesan, mixed - done. Easier and faster, but no less delicious!

Despite the presence of pasta and pesto in the dish, this dish still has an American origin, albeit Italian roots. In Italy itself, such dishes still prefer to cook in the traditional way: pasta separately, sauce separately, or in the same place, but after cooking the pasta in clean water. Well, that's understandable: traditions are a great thing!

How to make the perfect One Pot dish:
1. Choose a saucepan that is large enough to hold all the ingredients in your recipe. During the cooking process, the ingredients should be lightly mixed so that the dish is saturated with aromas and cooks evenly. The best saucepan is one with a round bottom, it is easy to mix food in it, as well as a ceramic one so that the temperature rises gradually and the dish does not boil over. I used 3 liters. The Emile Henry Ceramic Risotto Pot, heavy, with thick sides and a semicircular bottom, is “just what the doctor ordered” for this recipe.
2. Choose slow-cooked, dry carbs that usually cook for 9-15 minutes in boiling water.
3. Use broth and spices instead of water to enhance the flavor. Curry goes well with cream, and Provencal herbs bring out the flavor of tomato sauce.

- Will the water added at the start of cooking make my food bland or too runny?
During the cooking process, all the ingredients exchange their tastes and aromas, so the dish will not be bland. The carbohydrates found in pasta, rice, or legumes give the dish a smooth uniformity by binding the ingredients in the sauce. The secret of the All in One Pot recipes lies in the starch that remains in the dish, since the water does not drain out of it. The starch acts as a natural thickener and binder that gives the dish a smooth, creamy texture.

- I don't like pasta, what kind of dishes can I cook using the One Pot method?
You can cook all types of carbohydrates and dry legumes. Rice, wheat, beans and lentils are ideal. For example, you can cook Cuban rice with cumin and black beans, or wheat with vegetables, chickpeas and oriental raisins, or lentils with zucchini, chorizo, bell pepper and cream. Connect your imagination and experiment.

- Is the dish "Everything in one pot" designed for a certain number of people?
The number of people is limited only by the size of the One Pot used. Use One Pot recipes for quick daily lunches or dinners, as true gourmets and gluttons will prefer the classic cooking method.

If you google the query "one pot recipe" you will get about 900 thousand search results, and if "one pan recipe" then even more - more than a million pages with recipes from chefs, food bloggers, and home cooks. Try one of these - perhaps some simple and tasty dish will settle in your arsenal of homemade recipes. Or you can experiment yourself and "derive" a One Pot recipe from your favorite ingredients ...

[Constantin]

Constantin, a very ingenious recipe, I've never cooked anything like it, but I'm sure it's delicious.

And if the chicken in this recipe is replaced with thinly chopped fillets of salted red fish, then of course you will not need to fry - immediately cook pasta with lightly salted salmon / salmon / pink salmon / trout,

... then it must be added along with spinach, just to warm it up, the time required for cooking the pasta (9-15 minutes) is too much for such a fish, especially since it is already ready.

Wonderful Lazy recipe, thanks.
Maybe you can cook it in a slow cooker?

[Constantin]

Constantin,
My son prepares pasta with seafood according to this principle. He invented it himself, but it is clear that he does not pretend to be a discoverer!
It turns out much tastier, as all the aromas and flavors of the seafood remain in the sauce.
And here is the same principle ...
We haven't tried it with chicken yet.

Maybe you can cook it in a slow cooker?

Better in a slow cooker.

I would die stirring every 2 minutes all the time, what a lazy recipe is that ?? Stand over the stove all the time.
Although it is certainly delicious, it can be done in any multicooker with a pilaf program, when it is cooked before the water is evaporated. Without any stirring, well, or stir once in the process.
I love these one pot recipes very much, and it looks like it's delicious, but the way is unfortunate for me.

Better in a slow cooker.

Than?
Then in a frying pan

... then it must be added along with spinach, just to warm it up, the time required for cooking the pasta (9-15 minutes) is too much for such a fish, especially since it is already ready.

I will kindly agree with you, but only partially ...

If we consider fish in such a recipe as a protein feed filler in a dish, then yes, you can put it at the very end, along with spinach.
But if we consider such fish as part of the sauce for pasta, then it should be put first of all so that its taste harmoniously saturates and combines with all the other ingredients of the dish. Watch a short video from Emile Henry to celebrate the launch of the One Pot. In it, the chopped fillet of smoked salmon is placed at the beginning, and cooked along with all the other ingredients of the dish:

Maybe you can cook it in a slow cooker?

Why not?

My son prepares pasta with seafood according to this principle. He invented it himself, but it is clear that he does not pretend to be a discoverer!

The younger generation breathes in the back of us, homegrown cooks! If a man knows how to cook something more complicated than scrambled eggs, then in this life he will not be lost!

I would die stirring every 2 minutes all the time, what a lazy recipe is that ?? Stand over the stove all the time.

Yes, ONE POT dishes are a little more complicated than making dumplings. But if you count, then you will have to stir at most 5-6 times.

Than?

The fact that in a slow cooker you can first fry.

Pressure build-up, pressure relief

In a frying pan

[Constantin]

an American chef of Italian descent who decided to cook the pasta and sauce ingredients in the same saucepan at the same time.

A more complex, but also fast, version of One Pot dishes involves pre-frying something in the same saucepan, before boiling with carbohydrates

Many Italian pasta dishes are prepared this way. At least that's how the locals taught me to cook in Naples when I lived there. For example, pasta with green peas, pasta with beans, pasta with lentils, pasta with zucchini, pasta with pumpkin, pasta with potatoes. Yes, yes, my darling, by the way)
I even exhibited the recipe five years ago))

Pasta with green peas and brisket (Pasta piselli con pancetta e panna) in the Steba DD2 multicooker We turn on the bowl for frying for 15 minutes, after the sound signal, add a little oil, add the onion and lightly sauté it, then the brisket, we sauté too, and then green peas (frozen ...julia_bb

But the protein component (sauce) is nevertheless prepared separately, the pasta is cooked separately, and only at the end is added, literally for a couple of minutes, so that the macaros are soaked, this is enough.
Constantin, anyway, your version of the pasta is interesting, pesto and spinach I will definitely cook it in the near future!

[Constantin]

If we consider fish in such a recipe as a protein feed filler in a dish, then yes - you can put it at the very end, along with spinach. But if we consider such fish as part of the sauce for pasta, then it should be put first of all so that its taste harmoniously saturates and combines with all the other ingredients of the dish. Watch a short video from Emile Henry to celebrate the launch of the One Pot. In it, the chopped fillet of smoked salmon is placed at the beginning, and cooked along with all the other ingredients of the dish:

Constantin, I love fish, and therefore I save its taste and delicate consistency. That is why I allowed myself to comment, based on my own experience, because I realized that otherwise we would get a dry, tasteless protein filler. The way it is cooked in advertising turns both salmon and spinach into a filler, in 20 minutes there will be no taste left from them, but for the beauty of shooting (red-green colors), these products were used, and not chicken, which in time readiness is more appropriate.
That's why we love our Bread Maker, that recipes are not for advertising, but for life.
And if you find fault, then the advertisement is still about a saucepan, with the aim of selling it, in which the method of use is shown as appetizing as possible, which in no way reflects the reliability of the recipe.

In order for this salmon to give its taste to the sauce, it is only necessary to warm it up in heavy cream, not allowing it to boil and leave to brew. And all this while cooking pasta. But that's a completely different story)

[Constantin]

Constantin, and I cooked this dish yesterday! Delicious!!! Well, of course, it was not without digression, as it was impatient to cook urgently, and all the products at home were not there. Pesto had to be excluded for lack of it. And instead of spinach I put arugula (I love it). The rest is all as the doctor ordered. The husband was very pleased. He ordered to convey "great thanks"

Constantin anyway your pasta is interesting, pesto and spinach Will definitely make it in the near future!

Sorry, but this is not my recipe for such a paste. Similar recipes in the internet are a wagon and a small cart. For example here:

🔗

Therefore, I have no claim to originality. Everything, or almost everything, stolen invented before us.

Well, of course there were some digressions

Deviations in this recipe are not only allowed but encouraged! There is nothing better than tweaking the recipe to suit your tastes and preferences, or to the presence of certain ingredients. And it is right!

The way it's cooked in the ad turns both salmon and spinach into filler

Well, you understand, these are the French ... They understand Shaw in cooking ...
In any case, cook it the way you think is right! Without regard to authority and judgment! The most delicious recipe is the one that suits you. And let the whole world wait...

The most delicious recipe is the one that suits you. And let the whole world wait...

Here !!! Exactly!!!

Congratulations on your well-deserved victory in the "Best Recipe of the Week" competition

Oh ... It can't be! So glad! The recipe is of course very tasty and simple, but it is really tasty and simple.

I did not expect it, honestly ... Thank you!

Konstantin, congratulations! Creamy pasta is our everything! I can live on it for a year.
And what an interesting saucepan!

[Rada-dms]

Rada-dms, Thank you so much! And success to you!

P.S. It's a pity that Emile Henry no longer produces such a model of a saucepan ...

[Constantin]

Constantin,
Congratulations!

[Igrig]

Igrig, Igor, Thank you so much!