Tuscan Chicken in the Instant Pot

For my birthday, JT gave me an Instant Pot® Duo Crisp with the Air Fryer lid. This was the second thing I made with it. The first thing was the roasted tomatoes (which are EXCELLENT, see notes for directions)! This is a guest-worthy meal, and don’t fret that it’s all in one pot, it’s super easy and much less to clean up.

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 30 g butter
• 30 mL olive oil
• 60 g onions, sliced thinly
• 100 g mushrooms, sliced thickly
• 200 g chicken breast, skinless, boneless
• 30 g roasted garlic purée
• 250 mL chicken stock
• 1 g oregano
• 1 g Aleppo pepper flakes
• 100 g penne pasta, uncooked
• 65 g spinach
• 50 g roasted grape tomatoes (see notes)
• 50 mL cream (I used 18%)
• 50 g parmesan, grated (divided)
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. On the sauté setting, add the olive oil to the pan and brown the chicken (seasoned with salt and pepper) on both sides. Move the chicken to the side.
2. Melt the butter and cook the onions until translucent, add the mushrooms, and wilt.
3. Combine the chicken stock and roasted garlic purée with the oregano and pepper flakes and mix well. Pour into the Instant Pot and deglaze to remove any bits that have adhered to the stainless steel. Add the pasta around the chicken and stir so that it is immersed in the cooking liquid.
4. Put the lid on securely and make sure the vent is set to “Sealing”. Choose the “Pressure Cook” setting and set the cook-time for 5 minutes at high pressure (this means 6-7 minutes to come to temperature and pressure and 5 minutes cooking time). When the program is complete, release the pressure carefully. Make sure the internal chicken temperature is at 170° F and the pasta is al dente (there should be some liquid in the pot for the sauce).
5. Remove the chicken breast and allow to rest covered. Set the Instant Pot to “Sauté” and add the spinach and roasted tomatoes, stirring to wilt the spinach. Add the cream and heat through. Stir in about 3/4 of the parmesan and reserve the rest for presentation. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Slice the breast and stir it back into the sauce to heat.
7. Serve immediately with remaining parmesan for garnish.
   

   The pasta is perfectly cooked.

Notes:

• You may substitute sun-dried tomatoes for roasted ones.
• Roasted tomatoes: Slice 75 g of grape tomatoes in half, lengthwise. Squeeze the seeds and juice out (be careful because it can really pop hurling tomato guts everywhere). Toss the halves with 15 mL extra virgin olive oil. Lay the tomatoes in two layers on the bottom rack and top racks of the air fryer basket of your Instant Pot Duo. Cover with the air fryer lid and set the program to dehydrate. This program sets the temperature at 160° F for four hours. Depending on the size of your tomatoes, timing could be less; I found three hours, turning the tomatoes once at around one and a half hours was enough.
• This recipe is pictured with 500 mL chicken stock, I felt it was too soupy so I reduced the stock to 250 mL, tested it but forgot to take a photo!
• In an effort yo eat fewer carbs, I have reduced the pasta from 120 g to 100 g for two people (March 15, 2023).
• The directions were modified slightly to brown the chicken first and then sweat the onions snd mushrooms on May 24, 2023 so that the onions wouldn’t burn.