Creamy Chicken & Mushroom Pasta

Ingredients

• 400g tagliatelle
• 3 chicken breasts (about 450g), sliced
• 150ml hot chicken stock
• 300g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 200ml double cream
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 25g butter
• 50g grated Parmesan
• 10g fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
• 1 tsp lemon juice (optional, to brighten)
• ciabatta, to serve
• rocket and Parmesan salad, to serve

Method

1. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and salt it generously — it should taste like the sea. This is your only chance to season the pasta itself. Cook the tagliatelle to the lower end of the pack timing for al dente, then scoop out 100ml of the starchy cooking water before draining.
2. While the pasta cooks, pat the chicken dry and season generously with salt and black pepper — water on the surface means steam, and steam means no browning. Heat the oil and butter in a large stainless or cast-iron pan over medium-high until the butter foams and stops hissing.
3. Lay the chicken in the pan in a single layer, working in two batches if you need to — crowd it and the pan drops temperature, water pours out, and you've poached the chicken instead of searing it. Fry for 5–6 minutes, turning once, until golden at the edges and just cooked through. Lift onto a plate to rest.
4. Drop the onion into the same pan and soften for about 4 minutes until translucent, scraping up the golden bits stuck to the base — that's the flavour. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds, just until fragrant — don't let it go past pale gold or it turns the whole sauce bitter. Tip in the mushrooms and fry for 6–8 minutes, undisturbed at first, until they're deeply golden and any released liquid has evaporated.
5. Pour in the hot chicken stock and let it bubble hard for 2 minutes, scraping the base again to lift the fond into the sauce. Lower the heat, then stir in the double cream and Parmesan until the sauce turns silky and coats the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes.
6. Return the chicken and any resting juices to the pan and simmer gently for 2 minutes so the meat heats through and the sauce clings. Stir in the lemon juice off the heat — the acid cuts through the cream and lifts everything you've just built.
7. Tip in the drained tagliatelle and toss thoroughly, loosening with a splash of the reserved pasta water if it tightens. Every strand should be glossy, not gluey. Taste, season, taste again — adjust now, not at the table.
8. Plate the pasta into warm bowls, scatter generously with the chopped parsley and extra Parmesan, and serve straight away with warm ciabatta torn at the table and the rocket and Parmesan salad alongside.