First thing’s first: you’ll need to cook off your chicken and a package of mushrooms. You don’t need to season it with much more than salt and pepper (maybe some garlic), but make sure it’s cut into bite size pieces. Then cook it off in a pan with some oil and set aside. Cook your pasta (pappardelle) while the chicken is cooking. Now this dish really gets going with a roux, as most great pastas do. Melt a couple tablespoons of butter in a pan and quickly whisk in a tablespoon or so of flour. Add milk and your Cajun seasonings: salt, pepper, white pepper, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, and thyme. Let it bubble up and reduce. Add the chicken and mushrooms back in, along with several handfuls of frozen peas. Finally, add the pasta to the sauté pan with tongs and toss to coat. The sauce is creamy and flavorful, but you can always grate some parm/pecorino on top if you want to give it an extra little bite.
This was a fun one on a weeknight. Quick pasta meals are always a go-to in our house (typically every Sunday, tbh), but I’m usually tossing some combo of pasta/protein/veggie with a jarred sauce and calling it a day. It was nice to make my own sauce for once. It was also nice to remember how amazing Cajun stuff is – the food, yes, but also the whole culture. This was definitely a shortcut recipe, but it’s got more than a hint of the Cajun cuisine that’s so unique and tasty.
Peaches to Apples 