Recipe: Sautéed Chicken and Pasta with a Leek and Onion Cream Sauce

So, I picked up leeks a little while ago with plans to make my Fettuccine and Sweet Italian Sausage in a Parmesan-Leek Sauce. When I left the house this morning, I set chicken out to thaw, having completely forgotten about the leeks (which have been languishing in the veggie drawer for over a week now), and planned to just wing it for dinner tonight. When I got home in the evening and starting getting prepped to make dinner, I found the leeks in the fridge and decided to just do a different take on that sauce from the original recipe, and the result was delicious. Leeks, onion, and garlic all have strong flavors, but blended together with heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, butter, and seasoning, they mellow out, creating a light, creamy sauce that pairs perfectly with chicken (and could work with a lot of other white meats).

iPhone 5 photo...not too shabby (I was too hungry and lazy to run upstairs and grab my camera)

Serves: 4
Prep. time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20-30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Special equipment: Food processor

Ingredients

• 2 leeks, cleaned and cut in half (remove all of the green top part and the roots/bottom; soak in warm water for a few minutes to help remove any grit and grim)
• 1 medium white onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• Approx. 1/2 cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2-4 tbsp. lemon juice
• 2-4 tbsp. white wine (cooking grade is fine)
• 2-4 tbsp. dried oregano
• 2-4 tbsp. lemon pepper (if you don't have this, just add some extra pepper and dry lemon peel, or skip it altogether) 
• Approx. 1/4 cup heavy cream (add more as needed)
• 2 chicken breasts, whole or cut into strips
• 1 package (approx. 16 oz.) spaghetti or linguine (you could also try a small pasta, like penne or rotini—they could work very well with the sauce)
• Olive oil
• Butter
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil, then add the leeks and cook for 2-4 minutes, until tender. Drain the leeks and put them in the food processor. Heat a little butter and olive oil in a medium pan over medium-high heat and add the onion. Cook until tender, then put it in the food processor. Add garlic, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, white wine, oregano, lemon pepper, salt, and pepper to the onion and leeks. Blend in the food processor until well-blended (the mixture likely won't be completely smooth, but this is fine—a little texture is good for this sauce). With the food processor running, slowly add the heavy cream. Sauce will be not too thin but not too thick. Pour it into a small pot and warm it over medium heat on the stove—add a little water or milk if you need to thin it out. In the same pan you used for the onion, add a little butter and olive oil, heat over medium-high heat, then add the chicken (season the chicken with salt, pepper, and lemon pepper). When partially cooked through, add the white wine (I just poured a splash in) and let it cook down. When the chicken is cooked through, it should be golden brown and no wine should be left in the pan. Reduce the heat when the chicken is cooked through to prevent overcooking. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, lightly salt it, then add the pasta and cook according to package instructions (about 5 minutes). Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Add the sauce (I reserved a few big spoonfuls to pour over the chicken) and stir/toss to coat. Serve the chicken atop the pasta and top with sauce, if desired. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

This dish is flavorful and creamy, but not overly rich. The strong flavors of the onion, leek, and garlic blend well together and the heavy cream and Parmesan cheese help even out the flavor. Cooking the chicken with butter and white wine helps brown it beautifully, while adding flavor and helping to keep it tender as it cooks. My parents only had one suggestions for this dish: add bacon. I agree—a little cooked, crumbled bacon sprinkled on the dish would heighten the saltiness and bring out the flavors in the sauce. But, even without that delicious pig meat, this dish is tasty.

Recipe: Pecorino-Romano Cheese Sauce

The other night, we had thawed chicken breasts, leftover grilled veggies, and three cups of heavy cream crowded together in the fridge, and for me this was just another night of "how can I pull these things together to create a dinner that tastes good AND helps clear out the fridge." The answer was simple: Make a sauce with the cream and toss it with the chicken, veggies, and maybe some pasta (which, of course, we always have on hand in the pantry). So, sauce. Cheese sauce made the most sense. But what kind of cheese? Well, I had an assortment to choose from— Gouda, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Jarlsberg—and I chose Pecorino-Romano, craving its distinct salty flavor. A little garlic, some onion and seasonings, and a splash of chicken broth added to the cream and cheese mix created a velvety, salty sauce that brightened up lightly-seasoned chicken and previously-grilled veggies.

Yields: About 1-1.5 cups
Prep. time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10-15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp. butter
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• Approx. 1/4 cup chicken stock/broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2-3/4 cup shredded/grated Pecorino-Romano cheese
• 1/2 tsp. white pepper (or more, to taste)
• 1 tbsp. dried basil (or more, to taste)
• 1 tsp. dried oregano (or more, to taste)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Cornstarch (mixed with water; as needed)

Directions

In a medium pot over medium-low heat, melt the butter, then add the garlic and onion and cook for approx. 3-4 minutes, until the mixture is fragrant and slightly soft. Add the chicken stock, then slowly whisk in the heavy cream and increase the heat to medium. When the mixture starts to bubble slightly around the edges, slowly add in the cheese, whisking constantly. Increase the heat slightly and continue to whisk until the cheese is almost completely melted. Whisk in a little regular milk if the mixture seems a little thick or lumpy. Add the white pepper, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper and whisk to combine. Let the mixture cook over medium to medium-high heat until thickened. If it seems a little thin, add a little bit of cornstarch (mix about 1 tsp. cornstarch with about 2 tbsp. cold water, then add it to the sauce). Serve over chicken, pasta, rice, vegetables, potatoes, etc. 

This sauce is creamy, salty, cheesy, and surprisingly light despite the heavy cream. It may seem quite salty and strong when tasted straight from the pot, but once tossed with warm pasta or poured over roasted red potatoes or a grilled chicken breast, it's absolutely perfect—bright and flavorful. We had it as a pasta sauce, tossed with pieces of sauteed chicken, whole wheat farfalle pasta, and grilled vegetables (squash, zucchini, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, and onion) and it was ridiculously tasty. We had some sauce leftover, so we ate it over breaded chicken breasts and roasted new potatoes the next night, and it worked so well. Despite being a cream sauce, its bright, cheesy flavor works well in warm weather dishes.

Recipe: Fettuccine and Sweet Italian Sausage in a Parmesan-Leek Sauce

I saw a recipe for Winter Pasta with Chorizo while browsing through recipes on Tastespotting. Intrigued by the use of leeks and cabbage in a sort of pesto-cream sauce hybrid, I saved it to my "Recipes to Try" Pinterest board and decided yesterday, a drizzly, chilly Valentine's Day, would be the ideal day for this warm, wintry pasta dish. I made homemade fettuccine (with help from my pasta maker) and tweaked the ingredients just a bit to make it just right, and the result was a delicious, light but flavorful pasta dish, permeated with the delicate, onion-y taste of the leeks and the nutty, slightly tangy flavor of Parmesan cheese. Sweet Italian sausage is packed with flavor and just a touch of heat, and it paired well with the creamy sauce and medium-width pasta noodles.

Yields: 4 servings
Prep. time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Special equipment: Food processor

Ingredients

• 2 leeks, washed/soaked with the tops cut off, cut into big pieces (peel apart the layers of the leek and soak them in a large bowl—leeks are incredibly dirty, so they need to soak to get clean)
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3 cabbage leaves, removed from stalk and washed or two small handfuls of pre-shredded cabbage (I found a bag of shredded cabbage for coleslaw, with no other veggies included)
• 3 tbsp. oregano leaves
• 1/2 tsp. dried grated lemon peel
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1-4 tbsp. heavy cream
• 2-3 links (casings removed) or approx. 1/2 lb. sweet Italian sausage, pulled into small pieces 
• Olive oil and butter, for cooking the sausage
• 8-12 oz. fettuccine
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• White pepper, to taste

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then add the leeks and garlic and cook them for 3-4 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes—everything will be tender when done. Use a slotted spoon to quickly remove the leeks, cabbage, and garlic when they're done cooking, and put them in a food processor. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon peel, Parmesan, oregano leaves, and heavy cream to the food processor and pulse to blend. Add salt, pepper, and white pepper, to taste. Once blended (the mixture won't be completely smoothe—it'll have a little texture to it), transfer it to a medium saucepan and heat over low heat. While the sauce is cooking, heat a little olive oil and about a tbsp. of butter in a medium saute pan over medium heat, then add the sausage and cook until browned and cooked through. While the sausage is cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the fettuccine according to package instructions, then drain and return to the pot. Add the sauce to the pasta and toss to combine, then add the cooked sausage and toss to combine. Serve with a little Parmesan cheese and fresh oregano.

The sauce is the star of this dish—that soft onion-y flavor of the leeks, the fresh oregano, nutty Parmesan, and earthy cabbage create a unique flavor and texture that's sort of like a creamy, light pesto, or a textured cream sauce. Sweet Italian sausage adds texture and more flavor to the dish and fettuccine is the prefect pasta for this meal. The sauce can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the fridge up to a few hours before use, and the meal reheats wonderfully.

Recipe: Prosciutto and Spinach Ravioli

I made this recipe for my dad and myself a few weeks ago, while my mother was on vacation at the beach with her mother, and we both loved it. My mom heated up some of the leftovers when she got home a day or so later and really enjoyed the ravioli too, so she asked if I'd make the recipe again, and that's what was on the menu tonight. This recipe comes from my Giada De Laurentiis Everday Pasta cookbook (recipe is originally called Prosciutto Ravioli; I've made slight changes) and what I love about it is that you don't have to make fresh pasta to make the ravioli—wonton wrappers take the place of pasta sheets and they are perfectly tender when you bite into them. They cook quickly too!

Serves: 4
Prep. time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: Approx. 4 minutes per batch
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 1 (15 oz.) container whole-milk ricotta (I use a lite/skim ricotta to make the meal a little less fattening)
• 1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 4 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped
• 2 large egg yolks
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 48 square wonton wrappers
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (I use a little less to make the dish a little healthier)
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• Extra virgin olive oil

Directions
Whisk or stir the spinach, prosciutto, ricotta, egg yolks, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl to blend. Place approx. 1 tbsp. of the mixture in the center of a wonton wrapper. Brush the edge of the wrapper lightly with water, then fold the wrapper in half, point to point, closing the wrapper completely and forming a triangle. Pinch the edges together to seal, then transfer the ravioli to a baking sheet. Repeat until all the wrappers and/or filling is gone, placing each ravioli on the baking sheet as you go along.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Working in batches, cook ravioli until tender (about 4 minutes per batch), stirring occasionally. Place cooked ravioli in a large shallow dish. Drizzle them with a little olive oil and toss them gently every so often to keep them from sticking to each other. Cover the dish as you go along adding to it so the ravioli stays warm.
Melt the stick of butter in a small skillet over medium heat, then add the oregano, stirring to blend. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Pour the mixture over the ravioli and toss them gently so they're all coated. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

These ravioli are packed with flavor and very filling! The wonton wrappers are tender, the prosciutto adds a delicious saltiness to the dish, and the oregano-butter sauce is light and doesn't overpower the other flavors in the dish. The ravioli reheats wonderfully and you could easily substitute in beef, chicken, or other meat (though you'll need to cook it a little first) in place of the prosciutto and try a different sauce, like pesto or marinara.