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Ingredients
Chicken breast ( boneless and skinless cut in to 1” chunks ) - 4pcs ( 2,5 Lb )
Onion ( large, diced ) - 1pcs
Shiitake mushrooms - 200g ( 7oz )
Avocado or olive oil - 2 tablespoons
Garlic ( minced ) - 5 cloves
Chicken broth - 4 cups ( or enough to cover the pasta )
White wine - ¼ cup
Lemon juice ( 2 lemons + keep zest from one lemon ) - ¼ cup of juice
Salt & pepper - to taste
Rigatoni pasta - 1lb ( 1 bag )
Capers ( drained ) - ¼ cup
Black olives ( drained and sliced ) - ¼ cup
Artichoke hearts ( drained ) - 1 can ( 14 oz )
Parmesan cheese ( grated ) - 1.5 - 2 cups.
Seasoning: oregano and paprika
To serve: parsley, red pepper flakes and more parmesan cheese on top
Preparation
Recently I was getting ready for a very demanding race in the mountains of Lake Tahoe area. Normally before the race you want to eat a lot of carbs and some proteins to get enough energy for the following day to perform at your best. So, delicious pasta with some protein will be a good choice as a meal before the race.
It inspired me to make a very special creamy pasta dish with chicken, mushrooms, artichokes, capers and lemons. If you like creamy pasta with notes of a sour lemony taste, trust me, you will be amazed with this recipe.
And of course, I will be making this dish in the Instant Pot, because it is easy, it is fast and it is a one pot meal.
Dice onion, mince garlic, zest one lemon and cut mushrooms into smaller pieces. Cut chicken breast into 1 inch chunks and season well with salt, pepper, oregano and paprika. By the way, you can make this recipe with shrimp following the same instructions, it will be equally amazing.
Turn on saute mode on Instant Pot and add oil. Once oil is hot add onions and saute until translucent ( about 5-7 minutes ) . Then add garlic and saute for another minute.
Add chicken to the Instant Pot and saute until it is white on all sides….no need to cook it through.
Add some broth and deglaze instant pot with silicon or wooden spatula to remove all the bits from the bottom of the pot.
Now, turn off saute mode on Instant Pot and add mushrooms, chicken broth, lemon zest ( which will bump up lemon flavor ), lemon juice, artichoke hearts and finally rigatoni pasta. Oh,.....and don’t forget about white wine. As Julia Child said: "I enjoy cooking with wine, sometimes I even put it in the food”
Don’t stir, you want to make sure that pasta is well submerged in the liquid. Stirring it may cause the burn message and it can prevent the pot from coming up to pressure.
Now, close the lid and set Instant Pot at high pressure for 6 minutes. After the cycle is over do a quick pressure release.
Pro Tip: Always make sure that pasta is submerged in a liquid just enough to cover it. Always set pasta for 5-6 minutes maximum with quick release. If you want Pasta more al dente, set Instant Pot for 4-5 minutes max.
Open up the lid after a quick pressure release and stir in Parmesan cheese, capers and chopped olives.
If you have never had capers before, they add a lot of flavor and go really well with salmon and chicken dishes ( for example chicken or salmon piccata ).
What are capers: Capers are under ripened flower buds of a plant known as the caper bush. The capers are picked and dried. Then they are pickled to create a big salty and lemony like sour flavor.
Our dish is ready, serve it with some parsley, red pepper flakes and you can’t go wrong by adding more parmesan on top.
Bon Appetit!
