Chicken Tetrazzini
Description
Mom has made this several times – direct from Giada De Laurentiis on the Food Network – and the only thing we both change is to amp up the sauce (I also use less pasta and more chicken). What’s listed below is the sauce at one and a half times the original recipe, so what you see here will nicely fill 2, regular 9 x 13 pans – one of which is more than enough for dinner for us, with leftovers, and then one to freeze. If I were to whip this up for a crowd, I’d use my large non-stick roaster for the baking, and a single recipe would be enough. Enjoy!
Ingredients
4 (or more!) large, boneless, skinless, cooked chicken breasts, sliced or cubed into bite-sized pieces (I brine and roast mine with salt and pepper, Mom poaches hers, Giada recommends frying them in butter and olive oil)
Mushroom Mixture
1 T. EACH butter AND olive oil
1 lb/454 g mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, finely diced AND 1 head of garlic, finely minced
1 T. fresh thyme leaves AND 1/2 c. dry white wine
Sauce
5 T. butter AND 1/2 c. flour
6 c. whole milk, room temperature
1 c. whipping cream, room temperature
1 c. good, strong chicken broth
1/4 t. nutmeg AND 2 t. salt AND 1 t. pepper
The Rest
1 lb./454 g pasta of your choice cooked to al dente – (the recipe originally calls for linguine)
2 c. + frozen peas AND 1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped
Optional Topping Ideas
fresh breadcrumbs in melted butter
freshly grated Parmesan
Instructions
In a large skillet, melt the butter with the oil and sauté the mushrooms for about 10 minutes until golden, then add in the onion, garlic and thyme and cook until the onion has softened, another 5 minutes or so. Add in the wine and simmer the mixture until the liquid has evaporated then transfer the mushroom mixture to a bowl. At this point, if I’m making 2 pans, I already have the chicken divided into separate bowls, and then I evenly divide the mushroom mixture and mix it with each batch of chicken.
In the same skillet (mine is non-stick), melt the 5 tablespoons of butter over medium-low heat then add in the flour and whisk continuously for a couple of minutes until it all comes together, then whisk in the milk, cream, broth, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Increase the heat and continue to whisk until it comes to a boil – any lumps you’re worried about will disappear – then reduce the heat so that it simmers, uncovered until it thickens slightly. This will take 10 to 15 minutes – be sure to whisk it frequently, and check if more salt or pepper is needed. This is a good time to cook your pasta.
When your pasta is cooked, drain it well and divide it up into the sprayed casserole dish(es) you’ll be using to bake the tetrazzini. Divide the mushroom and chicken mixture over the hot pasta, then sprinkle on the peas and parsley, and lastly pour the sauce over all (divide everything evenly if using 2 pans). Toss until the sauce coats the pasta and the mixture is well blended then sprinkle with buttered breadcrumbs and/or fresh Parmesan and bake uncovered at 400 for about 30 minutes until everything is lightly browned and bubbling. If you’ve made this ahead (or taken it out of the freezer) and it’s cold, I’d suggest baking it covered, at 300 or 350 for a good 45 minutes before adding your topping of choice and then baking in again at 400 for 30 minutes.
- Category: Chicken, Pasta, Make-ahead
