White Sauce Pasta with Garlic Mushrooms & Grilled Chicken

I just had a minor epiphany right now - I write VERY long recipes and I am just wondering if that is a good thing or a bad thing. Most people look at a long recipe & go like oh, forget it, I am not making it because it's complicated. But the reason I write detailed recipes is because I want to make sure that none of the steps are missed and you can adjust if required. 

This particular recipe here for white sauce spaghetti has a total of four components - white sauce, grilled chicken, mushrooms & boiled pasta. Sounds long, doesn't it? BUT the chicken recipe I doubled and used for three other dishes (sandwiches, potato skins & this pasta).  That's one component done. The second & third (mushrooms & white sauce) sound long, but they are one pot recipes which can be made in advance. For this particular recipe, I boiled the noodles, made the mushrooms, chicken & white sauce at Iftar (around 7 pm). When it was dinner time (8:30 pm), I warmed everything and then mixed it together. 

So a long recipe does not necessarily mean complicated. But small 'rule of thumb' for whatever recipe you are making: read it at least 2-3 times, make a note of the ingredients you already have & the ones you need, and then plan steps in advance keeping a 15-20 minute buffer margin. This is even more important during Ramadan when you have a strict timeline so its always best to prepare in advance.

Spicy White Sauce Pasta with Garlic Mushrooms & Grilled Chicken

Spicy White Sauce Spaghetti with Garlic Mushrooms, Chicken & Olives

Ingredients

Serves 4-5 people

• 450 grams egg noodles (spaghetti can be substituted) 
• Olives for garnish
• Garlic Mushrooms
  
  
  • 2 tablespoon butter
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon red chilli flakes (omit if you don't want it to be spicy)
  • 1 can of button mushrooms, sliced 
• Peri Peri Grilled Chicken 
• 200 grams boneless chicken, cubed 
• 1/2 teaspoon vinegar 
• 1 tablespoon Peri Peri Sauce (Garlic flavored) - Substitute with the one you prefer
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper 
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika 
• 1/4 teaspoon red chilli powder (omit if you don't want it to be spicy)
• 1/4 teaspoon red chilli flakes (omit if you don't want it to be spicy)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic paste
• Cheesy White Sauce
• 3 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon garlic paste
• 2 tablespoon flour
• 1 1/2 cups - 2 cups milk
• 1 Knorr chicken cube
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon red chilli flakes (omit if you don't want the sauce to be spicy)
• 1 teaspoon paprika (can be substituted with 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder)
• 200 grams shredded mozzarella cheese
• 3 tablespoon cream
• 4 tablespoon black olives 

Directions:

For Garlic mushrooms

1. Melt butter. Add garlic paste & saute for a minute. Add salt & red chilli flakes, if using.
2. Add sliced mushrooms and saute for 3-4 minutes till they are just light brown and you can smell the delicious garlic aroma. Pour into a bowl and set aside.

For Peri Peri Grilled Chicken:

1. Marinate chicken with rest of ingredients and keep in fridge for about 30 minute. 
2. Using a pastry brush, brush about 1 tablespoon of oil on a grill pan, and add chicken.
3. Grill for about 10-15 minutes on each side, till the chicken is cooked & the water dries. 
4. Slice chicken into small chunks.  
5. When I initially made this chicken, I doubled the chicken quantity and used about half of it in this pasta, and the rest of it in Cheesy Potato Skins and Chicken Sandwiches. It's a versatile recipe which can be used for other dishes. 

For Cheesy White Sauce:

1. Melt butter & add garlic paste. Saute for about half a minute till the raw smell finishes. Add flour and stir for at least 1-2 minutes to cook out the raw taste of the flour. 
2. Pour in about 1 cup of milk, and stir with a whisk to make sure there are no lumps in the white sauce. 
3. Keep heating the white sauce on medium heat till you can see small bubbles on the side after which it should start thickening. Use a whisk to mix the white sauce properly. Add chicken cube & rest of spices. 
4. Add shredded mozzarella cheese and let the cheese melt in the sauce. The sauce will be thick, so add about 1/4 cup - 1/2 cup milk and whisk to get to the right consistency. Add cream & mix in the end.
5. Taste and adjust seasonings if required. 
6. Add black olives in the white sauce.
7. If the white sauce is made in advance, the cheese will thicken & solidify into strands. Just add a little milk and reheat on low flame till cheese is melted and it reaches liquid consistency. 

Assembly:

1. Boil noodles as per packet directions and set aside. 
2. Make garlic mushrooms, grilled chicken & white sauce as per above recipes.
3. Mix the garlic mushrooms & the grilled chicken into the noodles & toss to mix together. Keep a few pieces of mushrooms & chicken aside for garnish.
4. Take noodles out into a big dish.
5. Pour half the white sauce over the noodles and toss lightly. Pour the remaining white sauce over the noodles and make sure they are mixed properly. 
6. Garnish with leftover grilled chicken, mushrooms, olives & a sprinkling of paprika/red chilli powder. 

Spicy White Sauce Pasta with Garlic Mushrooms & Grilled Chicken