Chicken Tetrazzini

I am a girl who loves pasta.  It's the ultimate comfort food for me and to be honest, my life would feel incomplete without it.  I don't need fancy and elaborate pasta dishes.  A simple carbonara or buttered noodle dish is sufficient.  In my world, pasta is the ultimate "fast food".   It's efficient cooking for sure.  I can put together a simple sauce in the time that it takes to boil the pasta noodles.  Plus, pasta is a meal in itself.  A slice of toasted ciabatta or crusty Italian bread and a glass of wine is really all I need to make a pasta meal complete.  🍝🥖

I feel like pasta has a bad reputation.  I know that it can be really nutritious, especially whole grain pasta, but I still can't escape carbohydrate consumption guilt.  😂 Why is there such a stigma around pasta?  To compensate for my pasta remorse, I add vegetables and protein to my whole grain pasta so I don't feel quite so guilty about eating all the carbs. I like to cook seasonally so in the summer, it's fresh tomatoes and basil, and in the Fall, I add eggplant and zucchini to my pasta dishes.  It's all about using the freshest, ingredients possible.  

A true pasta lover knows that leftover pasta is just as good and sometimes even better than freshly made pasta.   Leftover pasta might be the most underrated food of all time.  The longer that the ingredients meld together - the better the flavor.  It's the reason that lasagna tastes better day after it's made.  

Taking leftover spaghetti noodles and turning them into chicken tetrazzini is a win - win if you're a pasta lover.  For starters, whole grain noodles with vegetables and chicken make for a really nutritious meal.  Using up leftover pasta in a new way can also keep leftovers from becoming boring and mundane.  Making the chicken tetrazzini a day or two in advance so the flavors get a chance to mingle just makes sense.  Not to mention the fact that you've got a complete meal, ready to toss in the oven at a moments notice when you need to get dinner on the table in a hurry.

Chicken Tetrazzini
8 ounces whole wheat spaghetti
1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
1 Tablespoon sherry
​1 Tablespoon butter
1 1/2 Tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup parmesan cheese
6 Tablespoons cream cheese
3/4 teaspoon salt
​2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken breast
1/2 cup panko

Cook pasta 8-9 minutes.  Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water.  

Heat oil in dutch oven.  Add onion and celery and cook 5 minutes. 

Add mushrooms and cook 7-8 minutes until liquid evaporates. 

Add sherry to mushrooms and scrape browned bits from pan.  

Stir in butter.  

Add flour and cook 1-2 minutes. 

Add broth and reserved pasta water.  Cook 3 minutes.  

Stir in 1/2 c. Parmesan, cream cheese and salt.  Cook 2 minutes. 

Remove from heat.  Stir in chicken and pasta.  

Transfer mixture to a 3 quart baking dish.  

Top with panko and remaining 1/4 c. Parmesan.  

Place under broiler until golden brown.  

Serve.  

Chicken tetrazzini is my jam.  I love this for so many reasons but most of all - it's just really, really good.  I hope that you get as much enjoyment out of this recipe as I did.  
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Ciao!

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