Chicken Spinach Pashttps://www.saltandlavender.com/creamy-chicken-spinach-pasta/ta
Look at me.
First thing chicken breast? Throw it in the trash. I’m serious. Whoever told you to use breast for pasta hates you. Breast has no fat. Fat is what saves you when you get distracted by your phone or your child or whatever. Thighs. Buy thighs.
Bone in or out? Out is faster. But if you find cheap bone-in, just cut the bone out yourself. Use a knife. Or scissors. I don’t care.
Now. Pat dry. You hear me? Pat. Dry. If you don’t, the chicken will wet the pan and steam. Steamed chicken is grey. Grey chicken is what they serve in places where nobody comes back. So pat dry. Salt. Pepper. Stop there. No oregano nonsense.
Pan. Big one. The biggest you have. If your pan is small, the chicken pieces will hug each other like lovers and nothing will brown. Brown is good. Grey is bad. So two batches if you must.
Oil in. Heat until you see the oil moving like heat waves on a road in July. If you see smoke, your oil is dead. Pour it out. Start again. I’ve done that many times. No shame.
Put the chicken in. One piece at a time. Don’t dump.
Now cook. How long? I don’t know your fire. But try to flip it. If it sticks to the pan, leave it alone. It will let go when it’s ready. That’s the secret. Nobody tells you that. They say cook for four minutes. But four minutes on my fire is different from your fire. So wait until it releases. That’s your sign.
Flip. Cook other side. Take chicken out. Put on a plate.
See those brown bits stuck to the pan? Don’t wash them. Those are your flavor. If you wash them, you are a fool.
Now pasta water. Boil it. Salt it good. Like the ocean. Not like a teaspoon. Like a handful.
Short pasta only. Penne. Fusilli. Anything but spaghetti. Spaghetti and spinach will tangle into a nest that even a bird wouldn’t sleep in. I spent fifteen minutes one Sunday untangling spaghetti. People were waiting. Never again.
Cook pasta one minute less than the package says. Why? Because it will finish in the sauce. Before you drain, take a cup of that water. Keep it. If you forget, use tap water and keep quiet.
Back to the pan. Same pan. Don’t wash. Medium heat.
Garlic. Four cloves. Smash them with the side of your knife. Don’t chop. Smash. Chopped garlic burns. Smashed garlic doesn’t. Throw them in. Stir until you smell it. That’s about thirty seconds but don’t count. Just smell.
Splash some of that pasta water in. Quarter cup. Maybe half. Then scrape the pan with a wooden spoon. Those brown bits will come up. That’s your sauce base.
Spinach now. Fresh spinach. Handfuls. Throw them in. They will shrink. Don’t wash the spinach right before unless you want water in your sauce. If you must wash, dry it with a towel. Or spin it. If you’re using frozen spinach – and I have at 11pm when I was tired you must thaw it and squeeze it. Squeeze hard. Like you’re wringing a chicken’s neck. Get all the water out. All of it.
Stir. One minute. Spinach is done.
Where’s your chicken? Slice it into strips. Not too small. Add it back. Add the pasta. Toss.
Parmesan. Real block. Not the green can. That green can has powder that makes your sauce grainy like sand. I used it once. My cousin asked me why the pasta was scratching his throat. I wanted to die. So real parmesan. Grate it. Add it. Toss.
If the sauce is too thick, add more pasta water. If it’s too thin, turn the heat up for thirty seconds and toss. The water will leave.
Taste. Add salt. Taste again. Spinach eats salt like a drunk. So add more than you think.
Problems?
Watery sauce? You didn’t squeeze the frozen spinach or you added too much water. Fix with high heat for thirty seconds.
Chicken stuck? Your pan wasn’t hot enough or you flipped too early. Next time wait.
Parmesan clumping? Heat too high. Take pan off fire first.
Can you make ahead? Cook chicken day before. Keep in fridge. Wash spinach night before, put in bag with paper towel. But don’t freeze this. Frozen spinach pasta is sadness on a plate.
How to serve? Twirl into a mound. Use tongs. Lay chicken on top. Spoon sauce around. Sprinkle cheese. Don’t just dump like prison food.
How long it holds? In warm oven maybe twenty minutes. After that spinach weeps and sauce breaks. So tell your guests to come on time.
Last thing. This is just a base. Add sun-dried tomatoes if you have. Mushrooms? Cook them first until their water dries, then add with chicken. Bacon? Crumple on top. That’s not a recipe. That’s just you cooking.
