#4 Pinspiration: Dijon Chicken Linguine

Another delicious inspiration from Pinterest for my 2012 Goals.


Here is my adapted version:

Dijon Chicken Linguine with Mushrooms and Toasted Almonds

Serves 4


Ingredients:
1 package linguine
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
16 oz mushrooms, washed and sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves minced garlic
Salt and pepper to season
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds
2 bundles of white asparagus, lightly peeled, and trimmed on the bottom (cut into bite sized pieces)4 oz chicken broth


2 cups whipping cream
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to season




Heat olive oil in a large heavy bottomed frying pan over medium low heat. Add chicken breasts, garlic, season with salt and pepper and continue to fry the chicken until completely cooked. 


While chicken is cooking toast slivered almonds by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Spread nuts evenly on baking sheet. Bake, stirring occasionally and rotating the sheet half way through, until nuts are golden, 15-18 minutes. Keep a close eye on them so that they don't burn.


Remove chicken from pan and hold in a warm oven. 


Add to the pan:


4 oz chicken broth


Simmer until volume is reduced by half. Cook linguine according to package directions while sauce is reducing. Set noodles aside when done. 

Then add the following to the sauce:


2 cups whipping cream
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
Asparagus  (I just served it on the side, but I would put it in the sauce at this step in the future)


Salt and pepper to taste. (I added a lot of pepper, and tasted it multiple times until it had enough flavor.)

Simmer until sauce thickens enough to coat a metal spoon. Return chicken to the sauce, add the mushrooms and simmer for an additional 2 minutes. Serve over cooked linguine. Sprinkle with toasted slivered almonds.

Enjoy!

Delicious white asparagus.

The crew.  I also added Grey Poupon Dijon to supplement this mustard because I ran out. 

Prepping the asparagus by trimming off the tough ends, and then lightly peeling them with vegetable peeler.

Chicken, garlic, and seasonings cooking away.

Perfectly toasty slivered almonds. 

Chicken broth added and simmering until reduced by half. 

Cream, mushrooms, dijon and imaginary asparagus added.

Serve chicken over noodles, add mushroom sauce, and sprinkle with almonds. Bon Appetit!

I really enjoyed this dinner and will make it again. It did take longer than I had anticipated (mostly for the chicken to cook all the way through and the sauce to thicken.)


When I make it again I will slice the asparagus and add it into the sauce as well as cut the chicken into strips so that it cooks more quickly.  I would also add even more mushrooms than I already did, and find a more traditional Dijon mustard. Yum.


I'm curious to know if skim milk could be substituted for the heavy whipping cream.  Any experienced cooks out there know? Would it thicken into a sauce? Thoughts?