Maple Curried Pasta

Although my husband and I are not necessarily on the Gluten-Free bandwagon, we have taken a lot of bread and pasta out of our diet. However, eastern Ontario has just gone through what I can only describe as the coldest cold snap in the history of my existence. (I tend to embrace hyperbole with alarming frequency but this is just true.) The cold weather screamed for comfort food. I was in a pasta mood.

Those of you who follow my blog and/or have come to my cooking classes know that I'm more of a "use what you have" type of person more than a recipe follower. We've made various versions of this dish over the years but this is how we did it the other night.

Maple-Curried Chicken, Mushrooms, Pears and Asparagus with Fettucini

1/2 lb fettucini, cooked to al dente in a large pot of salted water

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

2 shallots, diced

handful assorted mushrooms, sliced (we had cremini and button)

yellow pepper, chopped

1 pear, peeled and diced

2 chicken breasts*

1/2 cup white wine or chicken stock

bunch asparagus, snapped in half

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1-2 teaspoons curry powder

1 cup cream

salt and pepper to taste

Add extra virgin olive oil and butter to pan. Add shallots, peppers and mushrooms and saute about 5 minutes. (*If you are using raw chicken, add it here. However, we were using leftover cooked chicken breasts so I didn't add it until later so it would heat through without getting dried out.) Add the pear and saute a few minutes more. Deglaze the pan with wine and/or stock. Add the asparagus, syrup and curry.

 Add the cream to the pan and let simmer until cream begins to thicken and reduce. Taste and season.

Meanwhile, drain your pasta and add it to to the pan. Toss and serve immediately.

 

Variations: As I mentioned above, this is a really versatile recipe. You could easily omit the chicken for a vegetarian meal. I've used apples instead of pears, thrown in fresh herbs like parsley when I had them, used red peppers (or no peppers)... 

We had no maple syrup once (I blame my children) and I used honey. It was still delicious.

For those of you who don't eat wheat, you could use the gluten-free pasta of your choice. This is also pretty darn yummy on rice - or if you are averse to all things starchy, omit the mushrooms from the mixture, roast or grill some portobellos and then top the mushrooms with the yumminess in the pan.

Monday "I'm MUCH too busy to cook but really should" Supper

Funny thing about teaching "Quick Cooking" and "30 Minute Meal" Classes for as many years as I did - I realize there's ALWAYS time to make supper. Pair that with related classes like "Stock Your Pantry" and I really have no excuse.

Now, that doesn't mean I don't still sometimes make excuses but, well, I suspect you get the point.

So, tonight's supper came from 3 different inspirations.
#1 We had shrimp leftover from last night
#2 It is really cold out
#3 I was in the mood for pasta and there's a Spicy Shrimp Pasta dish I make sometimes that is really yummy.

Now #3 was a challenge because the dish I had in mind takes some time to prepare but I figured I could alter it with some of the stuff I have in my pantry and get it done quickly.

Here's what I did:

Put a large pot of water on to boil.* When it does come to a boil, salt the water, add the pasta and cook until al dente


Meanwhile, Chop a medium onion
Mince 2 cloves of garlic
Saute them in olive oil for about 5 minutes.
Deglaze the pan with some white wine (or chicken stock)
Add a small can of diced tomatoes (I used a can of Spicy Red Pepper ones to help with the spicy factor in the original recipe)
Reduce for about 5 minutes.
Add about 1/4 cup of either milk, cream, half and half, etc.
Reduce again.


Add the seasonings you have on hand. Tonight I used chopped fresh parsley, oregano and salt and pepper.
Add cooked shrimp once the sauce comes off the heat. (It is already cooked and you don't want it to get tough.)


Toss with cooked pasta and serve immediately.