Pasta with Chicken in a Tequila Lime Sauce

                                                                                                                                                                           

1# linguine- I like to use “straw and hay pasta”

1# chicken breast cut into bite chunks

1/2 cup chicken stock

1  1 / 2 cups heavy cream 

1/3 cup good quality tequila`

1 T butter

1 T olive oil

3 cloves garlic minced

1 cup red onion  sliced thin

1/2 red pepper  julienne*

1/2 yellow pepper julienne

1-2 T  Sciracha hot chili sauce (to desired hotness)

1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice  and wedges for garnish

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

                      

In a large saucepan heat the cream to boiling- it boils over easy- so it’s best to use a pot bigger than the contents.  Gently boil on med hi- and keep stirring, till thickened, about 15-20 minutes.  Start your pasta water to boil. 

In a large saute pan add the olive oil on med high heat- saute the peppers and onions for a few minutes -you want them to be on the crisp side. 

Add the garlic and turn down the heat and cook another minute- stirring a lot so the garlic won’t burn. Remove to a dish and keep warm.

Add the butter to the pan and a little more olive oil. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper.  

On medium high heat- add the chicken in a single layer- you want them to brown and they will steam if cooked touching each other-do 2 batches if necessary .

Cook until the chicken browns- about 2 minutes, turn and brown the other side another couple minutes. Add to the pepper and onion mixture and keep warm. 

To the large saute pan, add the stock, lime juice, tequila.. Cook on  high to de-glaze the pan, stirring all the time and reduce somewhat. Reduce heat to low.

Add the thickened cream to the saute pan with the tequila sauce.  Add the hot chili sauce. Add back the chicken and veggies and stir  gently and warm through. 

Cook the pasta according to directions- or to al dente. Drain, but don’t rinse. Toss with the warm chicken/veggie cream sauce

Give a fresh squeeze of lime juice,and  a grind of some fresh ground black pepper. Serve with a lime wedge.

You can do all the steps except -cooking the pasta- ahead of time ,and just gently re- heat the sauce with chicken and veggies before tossing with the hot fresh cooked pasta.   

* I like to reserve a little of the red and yellow peppers and dice into confetti size cubes for a little garnish around the plate or bowl.

Shared by Debbie McLean Warner

The Pot Stirrers