Chef Tashas Chicken And Spinach Pasta Recipes

CREAMY CHICKEN, MUSHROOM, AND SPINACH PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook bow-tie pasta at a boil, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain and transfer to a serving bowl or a deep platter.
• Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Season tenders with salt and pepper, place in the hot oil, and cook until lightly brown on one side, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn and cook on the other side until light brown, an additional 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate.
• Add mushrooms and onion to the hot skillet and cook until onion is lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in chicken broth and mustard, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes. Return chicken tenders to skillet and submerge them in the broth mixture. Cook until chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 5 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove chicken and place on top of the cooked pasta.
• Continue to cook the sauce until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in cream. Add spinach stir until slightly wilted, about 1 minute. Pour sauce over chicken and pasta. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and garnish with parsley.

CHICKEN AND SPINACH SAMOSAS

Steps:

• Begin by preparing the dough. In a large mixing bowl combine flour, salt and oil and mix with your fingers until it resembles coarse bread crumbs. Add water and mix with both hands until fully combined and mixture holds as a ball. Turn out onto a clean flat surface and knead for 10 minutes until the dough becomes smooth. Flatten into a disc shape and set back in bowl and cover with plastic wrap to rest for 30 minutes while you prepare the filling.
• Set a large, heavy-based pot over medium-high heat and add vegetable oil. Add spices and stir until just fragrant - this lightly toasts the spices and forms the spicy base of the filling mixture. Add ground chicken and saute until slightly coloured. Add onion, garlic, and ginger and sweat. Add chickpeas and spinach then simmer for 10 minutes until liquid has evaporated and all the flavours have come together. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside and allow to cool (you can pour it out onto a flat platter to speed up the cooling process.
• Return to the dough and divide it up into 4 equal parts. Working with one piece at a time roll into a nice ball then using a rolling pin roll out into discs. Cut in half down the middle to form two half-circles. Working with one half at a time, rub a little water around the edges using your finger. Form a cone by folding along the straight edge overlapping the seam. Gently pinch at the fold to secure. Holding the cone in your hand fill with 2 tablespoons of filling. Seal the top by bringing the edges together and crimping with your fingers or a fork. Do this with the rest to make 8 samosas. (note: you can freeze them at this point if you wish).
• Heat vegetable oil to 360 degrees F in a large heavy-based pot. Fry the samosas in batches (so as to not to over-crowd the pot) until puffy and golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Season with salt and serve with Raita.
• Combine ingredients in a food processor and pulse 3 times to just chop up the cucumber. The raita should be nice and creamy from the yogurt but still have texture from the cucumber.

CHEF TASHA'S CHICKEN AND SPINACH PASTA

Steps:

• Start water for the pasta. Make sure it has salt and oil. Whole wheat pasta tends to take a little more oil than other pasta. It also likes to stick, so take a fork to it the first 5 minutes or so to make sure you aren't having sticking issues. Cook it to "al dente" (just where it losses it's firmness). Do not overcook. When it is done, leave it in a colander until you need it again. Next, dice onions and mincing garlic. Throw that in a sauté pan with a tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and sauté over med heat until golden brown. While that is working, cut up your chicken. If you are trying to loose weight, use the breast meat and you can remove the skin. Of course, the skin gives a lot of flavor, so Chef Tasha Peters uses it. She also uses a little dark meat, cut into bite sized pieces. The rotisserie chicken, or Tyson strips are already cooked. Throw it in with the onions and garlic and heat it. But, if you choose to use raw chicken, turn the heat up because the chicken needs to cook all the way through. While the chicken is cooking, clean and pick through and wash the spinach. If you use baby spinach, the stems aren't as long and hard. But using a bag of regular spinach, pull the stem off where it meets the leaf. It is bitter tasting. Then chop the spinach up and add it to the chicken. Turn off the heat and blend the spinach with the chicken. Next, cut the grape tomatoes in half. Add the tomatoes and the capers. Next, in a big bowl mix the chicken with the pasta and add either the basil pesto or Parmesan sauce -- it's your choice. Toss and blend thoroughly, then serve.

CHICKEN, SPINACH & BACON ALFREDO PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Heat the grill to high. Put the bacon rashers on a baking tray lined with foil and grill for 5 mins on each side until crisp. Leave to cool, then roughly chop.
• Heat the oil in a large saucepan or high-sided frying pan over a high heat. Season the chicken, then brown on both sides. Sprinkle over the oregano and add the garlic, then stir for another minute. Crumble in the stock cube and add 250ml water.
• Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce the heat to low-medium. Cook until the chicken is tender, about 15-20 mins, topping up with more water if the pan looks dry. Transfer the chicken to a board using tongs, then shred using two forks. Return the shredded chicken to the pan with the sauce.
• Whisk the flour into the cooking juices in the pan, turn up the heat and keep stirring until you have a smooth paste that clings to the chicken. Add 500ml water and the cream, then simmer, stirring occasionally for 8-10 mins, or until the sauce has thickened.
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water for about 10 mins until it is just cooked but retains some bite. Drain.
• Add most of the parmesan, the mustard, spinach and half the chopped bacon to the sauce, then season to taste, if needed. Stir until the spinach has wilted, then stir in the cooked pasta.
• Tip the mixture into a large baking dish. Mix the breadcrumbs with the remaining parmesan and scatter over the top along with the tomatoes and remaining chopped bacon. The unbaked dish can now be frozen for up to two months (see below).
• To cook straightaway, heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Bake for 35-40 mins, or until the top is golden and crunchy and the sauce is bubbling.

CHICKEN, SPINACH, AND CHEESE PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; add penne and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain.
• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion in hot oil until tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Mix penne pasta, onion, chicken, diced tomatoes, spinach, and cream cheese together in a baking dish until the cream cheese melts and coats everything. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the pasta mixture. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until heated through and beginning to brown along the edges, about 15 minutes more.