Besides being known for its Italian style-New York pizza, Saraghina recently opened a new bakery. Essential Italian pantry items, such as bread, morning pastries, olive oil by the pound, spices, cheese, candy and more, are the shop’s speciality. It’s freshly made pasta by the pound is the star. Having access to fresh pasta close to my apartment is a game changer in my menu planning. It means serving dinners made elegant with fresh pasta, and the meals aren’t time consuming. Ironically, the first recipe using Saraghina Bakery’s pasta was a time-consuming Rosemary Chicken Stew with Stir-Fried Collard Greens.
The stew is a basic recipe starting with homemade chicken stock that is made the day before. The other time-consuming step is searing seasoned chicken parts in oil in several batches. The next several steps are relatively easy before the mostly hands-off simmering time. As the ingredients simmer, Stir-Fried Collard Greens and Pappardelle Pasta are prepped, cooked and tossed together. The finishing Rosemary Chicken Stew is ladled over bowls of collard greens and pasta. The dish is garnished with shaved parmigiano-reggiano cheese.
It’s a meal worthy of a sit down dinner. After a couple days, the stew was gone. Another pound of Saraghina Bakery’s pasta was purchased, and it was tossed in a quick salad. Honestly, there’s negligible difference between dry and fresh pasta, but one can believe in the magic of fresh pasta making any type of meal elegant.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. olive oil; more or less
- Sea salt;
- Fresh black pepper
- 1 whole chicken; cut into 6 to 8 pieces; cleaned and seasoned with sea salt, fresh black pepper, garlic and 2 tbsp. fresh rosemary
- 20 oz. chicken stock (if using store bought, use low-sodum)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup dry wine
- 1 yellow onion; diced
- 2 carrots; diced
- 2 celery; diced
- Crushed red pepper; to taste (optional)
- 3 tbsp. fresh minced rosemary
- 1 tbsp. fresh minced oregano
- 3 garlic cloves; minced
- 8 oz. baby portobello; sliced
- 6 oz. shitake mushrooms; sliced
- 10 oz. white button mushrooms; sliced
- 1 bunch of fresh thyme; tied with twine
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup organic fresh cream
- Stir-Fried Collards Greens and Pappardelle Pasta (The ingredients are in the next paragraph, and the recipe is in the directions below)
- Serve with crusty bread
- Garnish: shaved parmigiano-reggiano cheese
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion; roughly chopped
- Sea salt and fresh black pepper; to taste
- Crushed red pepper; to taste (optional)
- 2 garlic cloves; minced
- 1 plum tomato; diced
- 2 bunches of lacinato/dinosaur kale
- 1/4 cup white dry wine (optional and/or use chicken stock)
- 1 lb. fresh pappardelle pasta; cooked according to manufacturer’s directions
Directions
- Heat a large pot over high temperature. When the pot is hot, add the olive oil. Then add one to three chicken pieces (the number of pieces depends on the size of the pot and the chicken pieces' size. Do not overcrowd the pot). Sear the first side until golden brown for about four minutes. Turn the chicken pieces over to cook the other side for an additional four minutes. Place chicken pieces on a paper towel lined plate. (Note: The chicken should be golden brown, but not thoroughly cooked.) Place chicken pieces aside.
- Meanwhile, warm chicken stock and bay leaves over medium heat in saucepan with a cover. When the chicken stock starts to simmer, turn the heat off and place saucepan aside with the cover.
- Discard excess oil in the same pot used to sear the chicken parts. Add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pot over medium temperature. After about 45 seconds, add onions, carrots and celery. Season with sea salt, black pepper and the optional crushed red pepper. After about five minutes or until the onions are translucent, add the carrot and celery. Occasionally stir until the vegetables are soften. Stir in the rosemary, oregano and garlic for about 20 seconds.
- Stir in all the mushrooms. The mushrooms' will reduce in half their size after about six minutes. Add the wine and continue to occasionally stir the pot for about six minutes. If necessary, adjust seasoning.
- When the wine slightly reduces, add the warm chicken stock with bay leaf, fresh thyme and seared chicken parts. If necessary, adjust seasoning. Bring to a boil and reduce temperature to a low setting to allow the stew to simmer while its covered for about 45 minutes to one hour.
- Meanwhile, cook the fresh pappardelle pasta according to the manufacturer’s directions. Drain and toss pasta with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Place pasta in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, prep the collard greens: After cleaning the collard greens, vertically roll a few leaves into a cigar shape. Using a sharp knife, slice the collards greens into ribbons about about 1/8” thick wide. Repeat with other greens. Place aside.
- Warm a large skillet over a high temperature. Add about one tablespoon of olive oil. After about one minute, stir in the diced onion. Season with sea salt, fresh black pepper and the optional crushed red pepper. Add the garlic and stir for about 20 seconds. Stir in the tomato for another 20 seconds. Stir in reserved collard greens. Just when the collards start softening, stir in the wine. If necessary, adjust seasoning. Stir-Fry for about three to five minutes. Remove collards from the heat and toss with the pappardelle pasta.
- Spoon Stir-Fried Collard Greens and pasta into individual serving bowls.
- When the stew is ready, stir in the organic cream. Bring soup back to a simmer (about 3 to 4 minutes).
- Ladle stew over each bowl with the Stir-Fried Collard Greens and Pappardelle Pasta. Garnish with shaved parmigiano-reggiano cheese.
- Serve with a chunk of bread and enjoy.
