Malfadine with Chicken and Ricotta Almond Sauce
Region: Italy
Category: Pasta with Fowl
Season: Any
Difficulty: Easy and Quick

Malfadine is a kind of irregularly cut pasta, usually a width wider than fettuccine with one ragged edge or it refers to broken lasagna.  In Italy when the home cook makes it the shapes can become even more irregular.  These pleasant flavors of mild chicken with a milky ricotta I find ideal as a spring dinner for this kind of pasta.  Chop the onions, garlic and parsley together for a quick battuto to get the sauce going.  A battuto is a mixture of very finely chopped vegetables, usually onion, celery, carrot, parsley, and sometimes meat such as pancetta or prosciutto, that often initiates a sauce.  Once itÂ’s cooked in oil it becomes a soffritto.  If you canÂ’t find this pasta, use lasagnette or broken pieces of lasagne.

[photo: Clifford A. Wright]

Yield: Makes 6 servings
Preparation Time: 25 minutes

3 tablespoons very finely chopped onions

2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped

1/4 cup very finely chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 pound boneless and skinless chicken breast, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup dry white wine

3/4 pound malfadine

1/2 pound fresh ricotta cheese

1/2 cup ground almonds

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cayenne pepper to taste (optional)

1. In a large skillet or flame-proof casserole that will hold all the malfadine, cook the onions, garlic, and parsley in the olive oil over medium-high heat until the onions turn translucent, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes. 

2. Add the chicken pieces, stirring, and after 1 minute add the wine.  Cook for 3 to 4 minutes and when there is no pink left to any of the chicken pieces remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Reduce the wine over medium-high heat until it is a nice syrupy sauce.

3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, salt abundantly then cook the pasta, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is al dente.  Drain without rinsing.

4. Return the chicken to the skillet.  Transfer the pasta to the skillet.  Add the ricotta and  almonds to the skillet and toss well with black pepper to taste.  Sprinkle the cayenne pepper if using, and serve immediately.

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Posted: 12/19/2006