Savour the Harvest - Start with a Rotisserie Chicken

If you don’t have a copy of the new Inspired magazine [1] yet, make sure you pick one up the next time you are in Sobeys or better yet, view it online [2]! Even though I work on the magazine I am surprised at how great it looks, and the recipes from all the chefs are excellent! Since Jana was out at a movie with the girls tonight, and my Mom is visiting from Ontario, I thought I would make a great pasta dish taking some inspiration from the magazine.I quickly dashed into Sobeys on my way home and picked up a rotisserie chicken from the deli, a bunch of fresh Compliments chives, a tub of Compliments pesto sauce [3], one pint of fresh Compliments Santalina tomatoes and a package of Compliments fresh angel hair pasta [4]. After taking Bruce, our 10 week old Newfoundland puppy for a walk, I set about dinner.

Along with the ingredients I had just bought, I pulled a bunch of young green asparagus and the last of my wild chanterelle mushrooms I picked up the other day from my local forager out of the fridge. I was really excited about dinner, I was cooking with my absolutely favourite mushroom and we were eating some chicken, a luxury in a vegetarian friendly home.

The fresh pasta cooks in one minute, and since the chicken was already cooked, all I had to do was dice it up and toss it into the pan to heat it through and hit it with some seasoning. The best part is tomorrow, I could pick up another rotisserie chicken, and try out one of the great chicken recipes from the magazine; I am partial to the Chicken Pesto Pot Pies [5]!

So grab a magazine, a rotisserie chicken, and get Inspired [6]! What are you waiting for, off you go!

Happy Cooking!
Chef Ryan Skelton

Pesto Angel Hair Pasta with Chicken and Chanterelles
Serves 4-6
Total Time: 30 minutes, tops

1 rotisserie chicken from the deli
2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil
2 cups (500 mL) chanterelle mushrooms or any mushroom you like, halved
½ cup (125 mL) diced Vidalia onion
2 cloves thinly sliced garlic
1 bunch young asparagus, thinly sliced on a bias
1 cup (250 mL) halved Compliments Santalina Tomatoes
½ cup (125 mL) finely sliced Compliments Chives
1 package (350 g) Compliments Angle Hair Pasta
3 tbsp (45 mL) Compliments Pesto Sauce
Sea salt and pepper as needed

1. Remove the skin and de-bone the chicken, shred the leg meat and dice the breast meat. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Heat the oil in a large fry pan over medium high heat and sauté the mushrooms until lightly golden about 3-4 minutes. Toss in the onion, garlic, asparagus and chicken, lightly season and cook until heated through, about 6-7 minutes more. Add the tomatoes and chives, then remove from the heat, taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package instructions, drain and toss with the pesto sauce.
4. Divide the angel hair evenly between the plates and top with the chicken and mushroom mixture. Serve and enjoy!