Real Life Recipes

Chicken & Spinach Tortellini\
As prepared by Teresa of the 2008 Milk Calendar

Chicken and Fresh Spinach Tortellini (August 2008)

A delicious, nutritious meal that’s ready in under half an hour. You save on clean-up by cooking everything in the same pot – you don’t even need to drain the pasta.

1/4 cup                              all-purpose flour         50 mL
1/2 tsp                               salt                 2 mL
1/4 tsp                               pepper                 1 mL
3 cups                               Milk                 750 mL
1/2 cup                              chicken stock or water     125 mL
1 lb                                    boneless skinless chicken     500 g
1 package (12 oz/350 g)     fresh cheese tortellini 1
2                                       cloves garlic, minced         2
6 cups (about 6 oz/175 g)   fresh baby spinach         1.5 L
1/2                                    small sweet red pepper thinly sliced    

Grated zest of 1 lemon            
Hot pepper sauce
Freshly grated Canadian Parmesan cheese

1. In a large pot, whisk flour, salt and pepper into Milk and stock; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.

2. Meanwhile, cut chicken into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces. Stir chicken, tortellini and garlic into pot. Reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 8 min or until tortellini is almost tender and chicken is no longer pink inside. Add spinach, red pepper and lemon zest; cook, stirring, just until spinach is wilted.

3. Season to taste with hot pepper sauce. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: about 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Cooking Tip: Use 3 cups (750 mL) chopped leftover cooked chicken in place of the fresh. Stir in cooked chicken just before adding the spinach and heat through.

For the Adventurous: Use 3 cups (750 mL) chopped Swiss chard in place of half the spinach and add crisped strips of pancetta on top.

Healthy Eating Tip: This dish is an excellent source of many important vitamins and minerals! You can’t get a much better bang for your nutritional buck than this.