Pasta Da Vinci
Pasta Da Vinci copied from the Cheesecake Factory menu: penne, seared chicken, cremini mushrooms and sweet red onion in a Madeira cream sauce, finished with Parmesan. One skillet, an hour start to finish, and the sauce can be built a day ahead.
Ingredients
Pasta Da Vinci Ingredients
- 12 oz (340 g) penne pasta
- 1 lb (450 g) boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil divided
- 2 tbsp (28 g) unsalted butter
- 1 large red onion sliced
- 8 oz (227 g) baby bella or cremini mushrooms sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp (16 g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) Madeira wine Marsala or dry sherry may be used
- 6 ounces low-sodium chicken broth
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy cream
- 1 cup (100 g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus more for serving
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
Equipment
- Large Skillet or Sauté Pan
- Large pot
- Colander
- wooden spoon
- Knife
Instructions
Cook the Pasta and Sear the Chicken
- Boil the penne: Cook the penne in well salted water 1 minute short of the package time. Drain it and reserve a cup of the cooking water.
- Sear the chicken: Pat the pieces dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high and brown the chicken in a single layer, leaving it undisturbed for the first 2 minutes. Remove it while the centers are barely done.
Build the Sauce
- Soften the onion: Add the remaining olive oil and the butter, drop the heat to medium, and cook the sliced red onion for 2 to 3 minutes until it slackens.
- Brown the mushrooms: Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook 5 to 7 minutes, until the mushrooms have released their water, re-absorbed it and started to brown.
- Flour, then deglaze: Scatter the flour over the vegetables and stir for 1 minute. Pour in the Madeira and scrape every brown patch off the bottom of the pan, then let it bubble 2 to 3 minutes.
- Simmer: Add the chicken broth and heavy cream, drop the heat, and simmer gently for 10 to 15 minutes, until a spoon dragged through leaves a track that closes slowly.
Finish and Toss
- Add the cheese off the heat: Pull the skillet off the burner and stir in the grated Parmesan through the residual warmth. Adding it while the pan is bubbling makes the sauce grainy. Taste and season.
- Return the chicken and pasta: Tip the drained penne and the seared chicken back into the skillet.
- Toss to coat: Toss over low heat for about 2 minutes, loosening with the reserved pasta water a splash at a time if the sauce tightens.
- Serve: Shave more Parmesan over the top, add chopped parsley if you like, and serve straight from the pan.
Notes
Wine: dry or medium-dry Madeira from the wine aisle, not salted cooking wine. Dry Marsala is the closest substitute in the same quantity, and dry sherry works too. Plain white wine does not.
Make-ahead: build the sauce a day early through the simmering stage, stopping before the Parmesan. Cool, refrigerate and reheat gently, then stir in the cheese and toss with freshly boiled penne. Do not cook the pasta ahead.
Storage: 3 to 4 days airtight in the refrigerator. Reheat in a skillet over medium-low with a splash of cream or broth. Freezing splits the sauce and softens the penne, so freeze the sauce alone if you must.
Substitutions: boneless thighs are more forgiving than breast, shrimp can go in for the last 3 minutes, and doubling the mushrooms with vegetable broth makes it meatless.
Doneness: a spoon dragged through the sauce should leave a track that closes slowly, and the color should be a warm tan or light russet.
Nutrition values are an estimate.
Nutrition
Calories: 670kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 139mg | Sodium: 661mg | Potassium: 900mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1100IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 330mg | Iron: 3mg