This outrageously delicious pasta dinner has a creamy sherry mushroom sauce that is seasoned generously with Cajun seasoning, topped with juicy chicken, and dotted with clouds of soft cheese.
The story of this dish, which I prefer to call the very ambiguous name of “Cajun Chicken Alouette,” goes back to a mother’s day dinner out. That mother’s day eve also happened to be the same day as the local college’s graduation day ceremony, or so we discovered hours into our journey of finding a place to eat. By the time we sat down for dinner, our group, including two toddlers and an infant, was a ticking time bomb of anxiety.
Despite the mounting tension and darling 1-year-old shrieking in my ear, all was soothed when I took my first bite of that Cajun Alouette Pasta. I’m honestly not even sure if that’s what it was named, but that’s all I could piece together in my head aside from the memories of perfectly seasoned boozy cream sauce coating fine strands of angel hair pasta all topped with large mounds of soft cheese. The dish had the option of chicken or shrimp and I went with the sea crickets, although I landed on simple, accessible chicken for my at-home rendition.
Of course I couldn’t find any recipe remotely similar to the flawless pasta dish I had at the restaurant that fateful evening so I had to recreate it as best I could. After several test runs, I finally landed on something that’s as amazing as I remember. Please, I implore you! Try out this recipe and spread the good word of Chicken Capellini with Creamy Cajun Mushroom Sauce aka Cajun Chicken Alouette.
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This outrageously delicious pasta dinner has a creamy sherry mushroom sauce that is seasoned generously with Cajun seasoning, topped with juicy chicken, and dotted with clouds of soft cheese.
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
4 tablespoons butter
2 shallots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon chicken bullion base
1 cup sherry
1/3 cup heavy cream
8 ounces spreadable soft cheese (like Alouette Garlic and Herb flavor)
about ¾ pound capellini or angel hair pasta
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large, ovenproof skillet melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Generously salt and pepper both sides of the chicken breasts. When butter has melted, add the chicken to the skillet. Cook the chicken for 3 minutes per side until browned. Then remove chicken to a plate and set aside.
Melt the other 2 tablespoons of butter in the same skillet. Add shallots and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute for 2 minutes, stirring well. Add the Cajun seasoning, chicken bullion base and sherry. Let the sauce simmer for about 4 minutes.
Stir in the cream and let the sauce reduce for 5 minutes, then add the chicken back into the skillet. Place the skillet in the oven for 30 minutes so that the chicken can finish cooking (reaching an internal temp of 160).
Meanwhile, prepare angel hair pasta according to package directions.
After 30 minutes, remove skillet from oven and plate the chicken over the angel hair pasta. Stir 4 ounces of the soft cheese into the sauce in the skillet then spoon over the chicken. Dollop a few spoonfuls of the soft cheese on each plate of chicken and serve.
1 Comment
I have logged in every which way and cant get this recipe. Way to complicated!!