Q. I’ve wanted someone to come up with a lighter version of a recipe I received from a friend. I hope you can help with this spicy chicken linguine.
A. I don’t go for those put-the-fire-out spicy dishes. So when I made a light version of the spicy chicken linguine, I also made it tamer. But you can make it the blowtorch way by following the regular directions. (I listed an option for spice wimps.)
The original recipe was cooked uncovered and a sauce was produced (while the dish baked) courtesy of the fat from the skin-on chicken thighs and a stick of butter. Then the cooked noodles, spinach and Parmesan were tossed into this sauce and served with the chicken.
I cut the butter down to 2 tablespoons and added some concentrated chicken broth and a little fat-free sour cream to help form a new sauce. I did switch to boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of thighs. I decided to cook the dish covered so I would be sure to have plenty of sauce and moisture in the dish at the end of the cooking time. The result was four nicely saucy servings. This dish tasted wonderful, froze well and made great leftovers!
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Spicy chicken linguine
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
If you don’t like spicy foods, you can still enjoy this wonderful dish. Just use a little black pepper in place of the crushed red pepper. (You can put the pepper flakes on the table for anyone who wants a bit more oomph).
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup fat-free or light sour cream
1 cup chicken broth boiled down to 1/2 cup
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon dried basil or 2 teaspoons Italian herb mix
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 box (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed gently
1/2 pound dried linguine or spaghetti
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon each: salt, freshly ground black pepper
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place butter in a 13-by-9-inch baking pan; place in oven to melt. Place onions in baking pan; toss in butter. Roast 10 minutes. Whisk in sour cream, concentrated chicken broth, garlic, basil and crushed red pepper.
2. Place chicken evenly in the pan; spoon onions and broth mixture over each breast half. Season with salt and black pepper. Cover pan with foil; bake until the chicken is almost done, about 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cook linguine according to package directions until just tender; drain.
4. Transfer chicken to a plate. Add the spinach, linguine, Parmesan, salt and pepper to the sauce; toss well. Place chicken on top of pasta-spinach mixture. Bake, uncovered, to heat through, about 10 minutes.
Nutrition information per serving:
475 calories, 29% calories from fat, 15 g fat, 8 g saturated fat, 100 mg cholesterol, 905 mg sodium, 42 g carbohydrate, 43 g protein, 5 g fiber
