Chicken and vegetable tortellini Dijon uses frozen vegetables and frozen tortellini, but fresh tortellini will work as well.TODD BENNETT/STAFF

Quick cooking: Dijon adds touch of elegance to chicken and vegetable tortellini

Web posted September 23, 1998

 Chicken recipe

By Karin Calloway
Special Columnist

Easy and elegant. These two words sum up this week's recipe for chicken and vegetable tortellini Dijon.Ann O'Shea, a good friend and fellow corporate chef, gave me this recipe. Strips of boneless, skinless chicken breast are coated with Dijon mustard, then sauted with sliced green onion and minced garlic. Chicken broth and heavy cream go into the skillet to make a sublime sauce, and the chicken and sauce are tossed with boiled tortellini and vegetables. Grated Parmesan or Romano garnish the medley.

Don't avoid this recipe if you're not a mustard fan. The Dijon mustard gives this dish an extra special flavor, but, the end result doesn't taste mustardy at all.

This is a healthy one-dish meal, as it's chock-full of vegetables. I reduce the fat in the recipe when I serve it to my family by replacing the cup of cream with a cup of evaporated skim milk combined with 2 teaspoons of flour. This change really doesn't affect the overall dish, but when I serve this to company I'll probably opt for the cream just to make it richer.

To make this recipe in a hurry, use a pound of stir-fry ready chicken breast and a one-pound bag of fresh pre-cut broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. Then, you'll only need to slice the green onions, zucchini and yellow squash.

Frozen tortellini is used in this recipe because the bag has 14 ounces versus the 9 ounces in the fresh product. If you can't find frozen tortellini in your grocery store, go ahead and use two packages of fresh. You'll have a little more pasta, but it will turn out fine.

You may have noticed that I use a lot of Parmesan cheese in my

Columnist Karen Calloway.FILE/STAFF

recipes. At home, I use fresh-grated Parmesan. I find it has a much better flavor than the grated variety.

Several gadgets are available for grating hard cheeses, my favorite being a hand-held rotary grater I ordered from a cooking catalog.

Fresh Parmesan can be expensive, but a little goes a long way. And I often buy my Parmesan at Sam's, where I get a very large hunk for about the same price I'd pay for a much smaller hunk at the grocery store. Sealed tightly in a zip-top plastic bag, it stays fresh and flavorful for a long time.On a busy night, I would probably just serve the pasta with some garlic rolls. But for company, a green salad topped with poppy seed or honey mustard dressing, mandarin oranges and pineapple chunks makes a great starter.

Something chocolate for dessert would be nice, perhaps some instant chocolate mousse, chocolate ice cream or chocolate sorbet.

Chicken and vegetable tortellini Dijon

1 pound sliced chicken breasts, or 3 half-breasts, sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

4 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

1/2 cup sliced green onion

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1 small zucchini, washed and sliced

1 small yellow squash, washed and sliced

16 ounces fresh pre-cut vegetable medley (broccoli, cauliflower and carrots)

14 ounces frozen tortellini

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream (or 1 cup evaporated skim milk combined with 2 teaspoons flour)

Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil.

Place chicken pieces in a medium bowl, season with salt and pepper, and coat with the Dijon mustard. Saute the chicken in the butter or margarine in a large skillet over medium-high heat until chicken is no longer pink. Lower the heat and stir in the onions and garlic, sauteing about 2 minutes. Meanwhile, add the vegetables to the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Add the tortellini and cook for a few more minutes, until the tortellini are done.

Add the broth and cream to the chicken mixture and heat thoroughly.

Drain the pasta and vegetables and return them to the large pot. Pour in the chicken and sauce, tossing to coat. Season to taste with salt, pepper and Parmesan or Romano cheese.

Makes 6 servings.

Serve with garlic rolls, a green salad topped with poppy seed or honey mustard dressing, mandarin oranges and pineapple chunks.For dessert: instant chocolate mousse, chocolate ice cream or chocolate sorbet.