One-Pot Chicken Tetrazzini

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp Butter
• 8 oz Mushrooms, sliced
• 1 small Red Pepper, chopped
• 1 small Onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove Garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp All-Purpose Flour
• 4 cups Milk
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 8 oz Extra Broad Egg Noodles
• 5 oz Boursin Garlic and Fine Herbs
• 3 cup Deli Chicken, cooked and cut into bite-size pieces
• 0.5 cup Frozen Peas
• 0.5 cup Fresh Parsley, chopped
• Fresh Basil Leaves
• Parmesan, grated

Method

Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Once foaming subsides, add the mushrooms, red pepper, onion, and garlic. Cook for 5–6 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms release their moisture and the vegetables soften at the edges. You're building flavour through the sauteing|sautéing process — the dry heat caramelises the natural sugars in the onion and mushroom, darkening them slightly at the pan's edges.

Dust the vegetables with the flour and stir constantly for 60–90 seconds. This brief cooking removes the raw wheat flavour and begins the roux|roux formation. Whisk in the milk gradually — cold milk into a hot roux prevents lumps by letting the starch granules hydrate evenly rather than clumping on contact. Once smooth, add the Worcestershire sauce and season with salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, then add the noodles and reduce the heat so the surface bubbles gently but steadily — a hard rolling boil will break the pasta and make the sauce grainy.

Stir frequently, particularly around the pan's edges where starch concentrates and scorching begins. The pasta will absorb the liquid as it cooks; after 6–7 minutes, the mixture should thicken noticeably and the pasta should be tender enough to cut cleanly with a wooden spoon. This is one-pot-cooking at its most economical — the starch released by the pasta thickens the sauce without an extra step.

Break the Boursin into smaller pieces and add it with the chicken and peas. Stir until the cheese melts completely and the chicken is hot throughout (this takes 2–3 minutes; deli chicken is already cooked, so you're warming it, not cooking it). Taste and adjust the seasoning — Boursin and Worcestershire are both salty, so you may need only pepper.

Finish with fresh parsley stirred through and a generous shower of grated Parmesan. Add fresh basil leaves just before serving — heat will destroy their volatile oils. The dish should have a loose, spoonable consistency; if it's tightened too much as it cools, loosen it with a splash of milk.