This is a great weeknight dinner dish that should be enough to feed a family of four with generous portions. If your family is smaller, you should have enough left over for lunch the next day. Here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients

• 2-3 Bay leaves, crushed
• salt, to taste
• 1 tsp. orange zest
• 1 lb. or 1 package spaghetti or penne pasta
• 2 Tb. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lb. boneless chicken breast, cut into thick slices lengthwise
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 1 roma tomato, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed and roughly chopped
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 lb. button or crimini mushrooms, quartered
• 1/4 cup sour cream, brought to room temperature
• 1/2 bunch fresh flat leaf parsley
• Freshly grated parmesan cheese, to taste

Directions

1. Fill a large pot about 1/2 way full of water. Add bay leaves, salt and orange zest. Bring to a full boil.
2. Add entire package of pasta. Move pasta around so that it doesn’t stick. Reduce heat to med-high. Follow instructions for cooking time of pasta.
3. In the meantime, using a large deep bottom sauté pan, heat oil. Add chicken and cook until browned on each side, approximately 3-4 minutes each side. Remove chicken and drain on paper towels.
4. If necessary, add more oil to pan. Cook tomato until skin begins to break. Add onions and cook another couple of minutes. Add garlic, salt and pepper. Bring chicken back to pan, then add mushrooms. Cook until the juice of the mushrooms has evaporated and the chicken is cooked thoroughly.
5. If the chicken sauté seems a bit dry, reserve about 1/8 cup of pasta water and add to the sauté pan. Once the pasta is finished, drain completely. Do not rinse.
6. Add pasta to the large sauté pan containing the chicken and mushroom mixture. Add sour cream and mix completely. Add parsley and do the same. Grate Parmesan on top just before serving, while still hot.

Copyright © 2008-2010 My Halal Kitchen. All rights reserved.

Read more great recipes and culinary tips from Yvonne at MyHalalKitchen.com