Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Tagliatelle
Seared chicken thighs and golden mushrooms folded through tagliatelle in a thyme-scented cream sauce, finished with starchy pasta water so it clings to every strand.
- Total
- 35 min
- Prep 10 · Cook 25
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Searing · Deglazing
- Savory
- French
- Creamy
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Fill the large pot with at least 1.5 l water, add 1 tsp salt and bring to a rolling boil over high heat.
~6 min
Salting the water seasons the pasta from within as it hydrates, so the strands themselves taste seasoned, not just the sauce.
-
While step 1 cooks
While the water heats, cut the chicken thighs into 3 cm pieces and season with 0.25 tsp salt and the black pepper. Wipe the mushrooms clean, trim the stems and slice them 5 mm thick. Peel and finely chop the garlic.
~6 min
-
Heat the olive oil in the frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook without moving for 4 minutes, then turn and cook 2 minutes more, until browned on both sides and no longer pink at the centre, 74°C/165°F. Transfer to a plate.
~6 min
A single layer and no moving lets the surface dry and brown via the Maillard reaction, building flavour instead of steaming.
Sear the chicken in one layer and resist stirring: the browned crust left in the pan is what gives the cream sauce its depth.
Searing Pat the chicken dry, lay it in one layer and don't move it until it releases easily; a pale, sticking piece means the pan wasn't hot enough.
-
Add the mushrooms to the same pan and cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring only occasionally, until they release their liquid and turn golden at the edges.
~5 min
Crowding mushrooms steams them; leaving space and stirring rarely lets their moisture evaporate so they brown and concentrate.
-
Lower the heat to medium, add the garlic and thyme to the mushrooms and stir for 45 seconds until fragrant. Pour in 100 ml cream and 60 ml of the boiling pasta water, scraping the browned bits from the pan, and simmer 3 minutes until slightly thickened.
~3 min
Scraping the browned bits dissolves them into the cream, and simmering reduces water so the sauce thickens and clings.
Deglazing Pour the liquid in while the pan is hot and scrape the browned bits up immediately; waiting lets them burn and turn the sauce bitter.
-
Add the tagliatelle to the boiling water and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes, then drain, keeping 100 ml of the cooking water.
~8 min
Cooking to al dente leaves the pasta firm so it finishes in the sauce without turning soft and waterlogged.
-
Return the chicken and its juices to the pan, add the drained tagliatelle and toss over low heat for 2 minutes, adding the reserved pasta water a splash at a time until the sauce coats every strand. Taste and add the remaining 0.25 tsp salt if needed.
~2 min
Starchy pasta water emulsifies with the cream, thickening the sauce so it coats every strand instead of sliding off.