Chicken Tetrazzini

Chicken Tetrazzini
Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Yeast-Free, Corn-Free, Soy-Free, Peanut-Free

This recipe works equally well with turkey. Pine nuts are used to make the sauce more flavourful, but can be omitted.

Ingredients
2 cups chicken (or turkey), cooked and chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup vegetables (I used a yellow zucchini)
1/2 large onion
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
1/4 cup apple juice

Pasta

8 oz rice linguine

1 tsp olive oil

3/4 cup peas, fresh or frozen

2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Sea Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Sauce
1/4 cup tapioca flour (for thickening)
2+1/2 cups rice milk

1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chicken (or vegetable) broth
pinch ground nutmeg

2 tsps Italian seasoning

1/4 cup pine nuts, crushed into a paste

Sea Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Garnish

1/4 cup whole pine nuts

Method
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Oil a medium sized baking dish (large enough to hold all the pasta and chicken).

In a medium-sized frying pan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. When hot, add the onion, garlic and fresh thyme and saute until the onions are tender and almost translucent. Add the apple juice and simmer until it is evaporated. Add the zucchini and continue cooking for 1 minute (do not overcook). Set aside in a large bowl, add the cooked chicken, and toss it all together lightly.

Pasta

Bring a large pot of water with 1 tsp olive oil to a boil. Add the rice pasta and cook until it is tender but firm (do not overcook!). Drain, rince the pasta under warm water, and add to the chicken mixture.

Sauce

In the same frying pan over medium heat (or a bit lower), add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the tapioca flour. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Whisk in the rice milk, broth, vanilla, Italian seasoning and nutmeg stirring constantly. Increase heat to medium high and bring to a boil. Continue to stir until the sauce thickens (about 5 minutes). Gently stir in the pine nut paste and season with sea salt and pepper to taste. Cool slightly and add to the chicken mixture.

Toss all the ingredients together and add the peas and parsley. Adjust the seasonings if needed. Toss again and pour into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of whole pine nuts over the top and bake for about 25 minutes.