Creamy Chicken Penne with Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Seared chicken folded into a silky parmesan cream sauce with penne, wilted spinach and sweet-tart sun-dried tomatoes. A comforting one-pan pasta dinner.
- Total
- 40 min
- Prep 10 · Cook 30
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Searing · Emulsifying
- Savory
- Creamy
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and season it with 1 tsp salt. Add the 250 g penne and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. Reserve 250 ml of the starchy cooking water, then drain the penne in a colander.
~10 min
Salting the water seasons the pasta from within as it hydrates, and reserving starchy water provides starch that later helps the sauce emulsify and cling.
-
While step 1 cooks
While the penne cooks, pat the 400 g chicken breast dry and cut it into 2 cm pieces. Season with a pinch of salt and the 0.5 tsp black pepper. Mince the 3 garlic cloves and slice the 60 g sun-dried tomatoes into thin strips. Grate the 50 g parmesan.
~8 min
-
Heat the 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken in a single layer and sear until golden and cooked through to 74°C/165°F, about 6 minutes, turning once. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
~6 min
Searing over medium-high heat triggers Maillard browning, building savory flavor, while cooking to 74°C/165°F ensures the chicken is safely done.
Searing Pat chicken dry and use a hot pan; don't move it until a golden crust releases easily. Crowding steams the meat and prevents browning.
-
Lower the heat to medium. Add the minced garlic and sun-dried tomatoes to the skillet and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour in the 200 ml cream and simmer until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.
~4 min
Briefly cooking garlic and sun-dried tomatoes in fat blooms their flavors, and simmering the cream reduces water so the sauce thickens and coats better.
-
Add the 150 g spinach to the skillet and stir until wilted, about 2 minutes. Return the chicken and any juices, then add the drained penne and 150 ml of the reserved cooking water. Toss over low heat until the sauce coats every piece, about 2 minutes.
~4 min
Adding starchy cooking water helps emulsify the fat and starch into a smooth sauce that clings to the pasta instead of separating.
The reserved cooking water is the emulsifier. Add it a splash at a time until the sauce clings to the penne rather than pooling at the bottom of the pan.
Emulsifying Add starchy pasta water gradually while tossing over low heat. The starch binds fat and liquid; stop when the sauce coats each piece without pooling.
-
Remove from the heat and stir in the grated parmesan until the sauce is smooth and glossy. Taste and adjust salt if needed. Serve immediately.
~1 min
Stirring parmesan off the heat prevents the proteins from clumping or turning stringy, so it melts into a smooth, glossy sauce.
Add the parmesan off the heat: high heat makes it clump and turn stringy instead of melting into a smooth sauce.