One Pot Chicken Tortellini
October is National Pasta Month & we’re celebrating with meat & cheese filled life preserver shaped tortellini pasta! Tortellini dates to the early 1660’s region of Emilia Romagna in north central Italy. Legend suggests an infatuated inn keeper spied upon the sleeping Goddess of Love Venere (Venus) through the key hole of the door to her room. So taken with her shapely form, he filled pasta dough he was making with cheese, twisting it around his ring finger to resemble the form of her navel. We tweaked a recipe using Villa Graziella Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, cherry tomatoes & kale with boneless chicken breast for a nutritious, flavor packed, week-night dinner. Makes 4 abundant main course servings.
Simple Ingredients
1-pound boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 tablespoons Villa Graziella Organic Extra Virgin olive oil, plus extra to flavor
20 ounces of fresh or refrigerated tortellini
2 cups fresh (or frozen) kale or spinach, washed, dried, cut into pieces, discard the stems
3 cups organic chicken broth
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons chopped, fresh parsley
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Sea salt & cracked pepper
Easy Directions
Heat olive oil in a large pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat
Add chicken to the pan, season with salt & pepper, cook until browned 5-8 minutes
Remove the chicken from the pan; cover to keep warm & set aside
Add butter to the pan, melt until foaming, whisk flour, cook for 1 minute
Stir in chicken broth, simmer 2-4 minutes or until slightly thickened
Add tortellini pasta to the pan, bring to a boil cooking 4 minutes, stirring occasionally
ensuring tortellini is coated with liquid
Stir in cream & parmesan cheese, simmer over medium heat 1-3 minutes
Return the chicken back to the pan with kale, cook 2-3 minutes, or until kale is wilted
Fold in tomatoes to the tortellini mixture
Sprinkle parsley over the top, serve & enjoy!
Tip: Let tortellini stand covered for 2-4 minutes allowing sauce to thicken & flavors to fully blend.