Chicken Porcini Orecchiette ~ Porcini mushrooms, chicken, and orecchiette pasta cooked together and tossed with fresh parsley and Romano cheese.
Recipe inspiration comes in strange ways.
Here’s how the conversation went.
Me: Pick a cuisine for me to make and I will figure it out.
Friend: Hahahaha! How challenging?
Me: Not too since you will be using the kitchen too and I need to be able to cook around your baking.
Friend: So let’s go with Italian.
Me: I love you for that. Carbs or meat or both?
Friend: Both please. I ran 10.5 miles yesterday, I deserve to splurge.
I sent a final picture of the concha bread.
Friend: That looks beautiful.
I then sent a picture of Adam Levine wearing only tattoos but is strategically covered.
Me: This is beautiful too.
Then the conversation worked its way around to the specifics of the meal. Porcini, chicken, and some kind of pasta. And a bit more about Adam Levine (I mean how could we just leave it at a picture?). A bit more about my friend’s exercise routine and all the reasons why pasta was allowed for dinner.
And that’s how this recipe Chicken Porcini Orecchiette came about. A simple conversation about carbs, pretty men, exercise schedules, the idea we all deserve to splurge where calories, carbs and fat are concerned. It’s what makes life tasty. 
Ingredients
- 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms (2 pkgs)
- 1-14.5 oz . can chicken broth
- 3 tbsp . unsalted butter; divided 2:1
- 1/2 cup onion; finely diced
- 1 tsp . dried thyme
- 1 1/2 lb . chicken thighs; cubed
- 12 oz orecchiette pasta
- 1/8 tsp salt and pepper; to taste
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 3 tbsp . fresh parsley
- 1/2 cup Romano cheese
Instructions
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Place mushrooms in a medium bowl; add 2 cups warm chicken broth-or place the mushrooms and broth in a saucepan and heat on low heat.
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Let soak until softened, about 30 minutes.
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Drain in a fine mesh sieve lined with a paper towel or coffee filter, reserving the liquid.
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Squeeze mushrooms to remove excess liquid and any clinging grit.
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Roughly chop the mushrooms and set aside.
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Melt 2 tbsp butter in a skillet over medium heat.
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Add the onion; cook until softened about 3-5 minutes.
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Add the thyme, stir well.
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Add the chicken, salt, and pepper. Cook about 3 minutes until the chicken has turned white and is no longer pink.
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Add pasta, porcini, salt, pepper, reserved mushroom liquid, and water.
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Bring to a low boil; reduce heat, and simmer, stirring often, until pasta has absorbed most of the liquid and is creamy, about 11 minutes.
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Add remaining tbsp of butter.
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Stir in Romano and fresh parsley, taste for seasoning and add any additional salt and pepper if needed.
23 Comments
Jenn @ Peas and Crayons
April 19, 2016 at 11:41 amDare I say this dish is more beautiful than Adam? Haha I love it!
Michelle De La Cerda
April 19, 2016 at 11:44 amWow, that’s HIGH praise. 🙂
linda spiker
April 19, 2016 at 3:10 pmThis looks amazing!
Roxana
April 19, 2016 at 4:44 pmThat dish looks amazing! Love the mushrooms!
Sabrina
April 19, 2016 at 11:57 pmChicken and mushrooms are such a wonderful combination! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
April 20, 2016 at 4:57 amThat is my favorite shape of pasta 😉
Sara
April 20, 2016 at 9:06 amPorcini mushrroms add SO much flavor to dishes, this looks like comfort food at its finest!
Adriana Lopez Martin
April 20, 2016 at 9:36 amYummy pasta love all things pasta this dish looks very nice and well balanced wish I was there to try =)
Jennifer
April 20, 2016 at 12:04 pmI think I could eat that entire bowl of food. It looks moutwatering!
Andi @ The Weary Chef
April 20, 2016 at 1:07 pmThis looks so flavorful! I love mushrooms and chicken together!
Cathy | Lemon Tree Dwelling
April 20, 2016 at 2:12 pmThis looks so incredibly flavorful! Such a great dinner recipe!
Michelle | A Dish of Daily Life
April 20, 2016 at 6:03 pmThis looks fabulous, Michelle! I love meals like this…and my family will too!
eat good 4 life
April 20, 2016 at 8:00 pmWow this looks terrific. Something I would really love to try. Pinning to make very soon!
michelle @ blackberry babe
April 20, 2016 at 8:10 pmI need a HUGE bowl of this with an equally huge glass of wine! Looks perfect.
Dee Dee (My Midlife Kitchen)
April 20, 2016 at 8:24 pmOh yeah, I hear ya’ on Adam. Yum. And this particular dish looks yummy, too! LOL Seriously, anything with porcinis and I am there. And the use with this pasta looks incredible.
Jessica @ Sprinkle Some Sugar
April 21, 2016 at 10:07 amLove these flavors!!
Joy @ Joy Love Food
April 22, 2016 at 7:39 amI love mushrooms, this sounds like a delicious combination!
christine
April 24, 2016 at 10:38 amI love the use of porcini mushrooms here. Yumma. Plus, I love orecchiette pasta – they are like little cups, collecting up all the good stuff!
lizzy wermuth
April 26, 2016 at 7:56 amYou combined my two most favorite ingredients in the world – porcini and orichietti – my mouth is officially watering all over my keyboard.
Julia
May 5, 2016 at 3:21 pmThis recipe looks awesome (great photos), I love chicken thighs, orecchiette pasta and mushrooms, HOWEVER (and its a big however, haha) I have never been a fan of porcini mushrooms but LOVE regular white mushrooms, are there any cooking alterations you could suggest so I can make this with regular mushrooms?? Many thanks in advance!
Michelle De La Cerda
May 6, 2016 at 3:19 pmI am a fan of adapting to your own needs, so using button or even cremini (baby bellas) would be fine. I’d do a rough chop, simple sauté in butter of whichever mushrooms you’d like to use, and then just add a bit more broth or water (broth would give more flavor) to compensate for not having the porcini broth from steeping them. After the mushrooms rehydrated in the broth, there was less than one cup liquid left, so start with 3/4 and just add a bit at time (on top of the water already in the recipe) to give it the desired consistency. Good luck.
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