CHICKEN & LEEK FETTUCCINE

I popped into see a friend of mine for coffee a couple of days ago. She had just received her weekly veg box which on this occasion contained some leeks, she held them up ... ‘vichyssoise or leeks in white sauce ... what else can I do with them ... ‘

I gave her the following recipe, it is delicious, easy and a great way to honor the wonderful leek.

CHICKEN & LEEK FETTUCCINE - Serves 4

Ingredients

350g Fettuccine, 100g Lardons, 2 Leeks, 3 Chicken Thigh Fillets or 2 Chicken Breasts, 100g Sliced Chestnut Mushrooms, 1 Clove Grated Garlic, 1 Sprig of Rosemary, 200ml Double Cream, Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper, 1/4 Lemon, Parmesan

Put the pasta on to boil
Add the lardons and a little olive oil to a large frying pan. Cook the lardons on a low to medium heat until crispy, remove from the pan and place in a bowl, once cool drain off the oil
Slice the leeks into 1cm rounds and place in the frying pan that you used to cook the lardons
Cook the leeks for a minute, until they have slightly softened. While the leeks are softening cut up the chicken into bite size pieces
Add the chicken and mushrooms to the leeks, stir every couple of minutes until the chicken is cooked through
While the chicken is cooking through remove the rosemary spears from the sprig of rosemary
Once the chicken is cooked through add the garlic and rosemary. Cook for a minute then add the cream
Stir continuously until the cream starts to simmer, squeeze over the lemon juice and stir it in to the sauce
Season to taste
Remove the sauce from the heat, drain the pasta and mix them together
Divide the pasta between four plates and grate over some parmesan

Cooking note

You want to cook the sauce on a low to medium heat. If it is getting to hot and the leeks are starting to stick or the meat is browning then the pan is too hot and you will need to turn it down.

If you need to do this quickly then remove the pan from heat and pour a little water on the chicken. Take care when doing this as it may spit.