Studio Recipes

Chicken Pesto Cream Pasta with Champignon Confit & Semi Sun-Dried Tomatoes

· epicureanedifice

Perlé interpretation of a service-proven cream pasta built on basil freshness, tender chicken, and soft tomato depth

Recipe Class: Canonical Reference
Badge: CANONICAL REFERENCE
Perlé Status: Based on a previously kitchen-tested recipe from live service; not yet physically validated in Perlé service

This pasta belongs to the generous side of comfort — warm, herbaceous, creamy, and deeply satisfying without needing to become heavy.

Basil gives the dish its lift and green freshness, while cream carries the pesto into a softer, fuller body that wraps around every piece of pasta and chicken.

Semi sun-dried tomatoes bring sweetness and quiet acidity, keeping the sauce awake and preventing the richness from becoming dull.

What matters here is cohesion. The chicken, mushrooms, tomato, pesto, cream, Parmesan, and pasta should feel like one sauce-led dish rather than separate components dropped into a bowl.

The mushrooms add a deeper earthiness underneath the basil, the pine nuts echo the pesto with a gentle nuttiness, and the final Parmesan note sharpens the savoury edge.

It should feel lush, but still clean enough to finish comfortably.

This is not meant to be a fussy pasta. It is a bowl of service-ready comfort, but it still depends on care. The chicken should remain tender, the sauce should cling rather than pool, and the pesto should stay bright even once folded into the cream.

The final dish should feel calm, full, and polished — familiar enough to be loved quickly, but balanced enough to feel considered.

Recipe Details

Yield: 4 portions
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Service Style: Hot main-course pasta / à la minute finish

Ingredients

Chicken

  • 500 g chicken thigh or breast, trimmed and cut into small bite-size cubes
  • 10 g olive oil
  • 3 g fine sea salt
  • 1 g black pepper

Champignon Confit

  • 300 g champignon mushrooms, halved or quartered depending on size
  • 120 g olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
  • 2 thyme sprigs
  • 2 g fine sea salt

Basil Pesto

  • 60 g basil leaves
  • 30 g pine nuts, lightly roasted
  • 40 g Parmesan, finely grated
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 90 g olive oil
  • 2 g fine sea salt
  • 10 g lemon juice

Pasta and Pesto Cream Sauce

  • 320 g linguine dried pasta
  • 20 g unsalted butter
  • 180 g fresh thickened cream
  • 80 g semi sun-dried tomatoes, drained and cut into strips or rough pieces
  • 40 g Parmesan, finely grated
  • 30–60 g reserved pasta water, as needed
  • fine sea salt, to taste
  • black pepper, to taste

Finish

  • extra grated Parmesan
  • extra roasted pine nuts
  • small edible flowers or vivid edible flower petals
  • optional few tiny basil tips

Method

Champignon Confit

  • Combine mushrooms, olive oil, crushed garlic, thyme, and salt in a small saucepan or shallow pan.
  • Cook over very low heat for 15–20 minutes, keeping the oil below a hard fry. The mushrooms should soften gently and absorb flavour without colouring deeply.
  • Lift out the mushrooms and drain well.
  • Reserve a little confit oil for cooking if needed.

Basil Pesto

  • Place basil, roasted pine nuts, Parmesan, garlic, salt, and lemon juice in a blender or mortar.
  • Add olive oil gradually and blend to a loose, spoonable pesto.
  • Check seasoning.
  • Hold chilled and covered until service.

Chicken

  • Season chicken cubes with olive oil, salt, and black pepper.
  • Cook in a hot pan for 4–6 minutes, turning as needed, until lightly coloured and cooked through.
  • Remove from the pan and hold warm.
  • Chicken is done when the thickest pieces reach 75°C core temperature.

Pasta

  • Cook pasta in well-salted boiling water until al dente, according to the pasta shape and brand, generally 8–11 minutes.
  • Reserve at least 100 g pasta water before draining.

Pesto Cream Sauce

  • Warm butter in a sauté pan over medium heat.
  • Add semi sun-dried tomatoes and confit mushrooms.
  • Cook for 1–2 minutes until warmed through.
  • Add fresh cream and bring to a gentle simmer.
  • Add cooked chicken cubes and heat through.
  • Add basil pesto and stir gently over low heat until the sauce turns fully green and unified. Do not boil hard once pesto is added.
  • Add grated Parmesan.
  • Adjust consistency with 30–60 g reserved pasta water until the sauce becomes glossy and coats the pasta evenly.
  • Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Finish and Serve

  • Add drained pasta to the pesto cream sauce and toss until evenly coated.
  • Check final seasoning, gloss, and sauce coverage.
  • Divide into warm bowls.
  • Finish with extra Parmesan, roasted pine nuts, and a few vivid edible flowers or petals as the popped colour accent.
  • Add tiny basil tips only if needed.
  • Serve immediately.

Component Yield Guide

  • Champignon confit: approximately 220–240 g drained mushrooms
  • Basil pesto: approximately 190–210 g
  • Finished pesto cream sauce: enough to coat 4 portions generously without excess pooling

Gram Per Plate

  • Cooked pasta: 180–200 g
  • Chicken: 110–125 g
  • Pesto cream sauce with mushrooms and tomatoes: 100–120 g
  • Finish garnish: 6–10 g

Target total edible load: 395–435 g per plate

Chef Notes

  • Chicken thigh gives a juicier and more forgiving result; breast gives a cleaner and lighter finish.
  • Keep the pesto bright. Once added to cream, it should soften, not disappear.
  • Semi sun-dried tomatoes are preferred here because they integrate gently into the sauce and hold a soft sweet-acid note.
  • The final dish should feel creamy and fully bound together, not like pesto and cream sitting separately.
  • Edible flowers should be used sparingly — they are there for one clean popped colour, not bulk garnish.

Equipment

  • saucepan for confit
  • sauté pan
  • pasta pot
  • blender or mortar and pestle
  • tongs
  • grater
  • digital probe thermometer

Storage / Hold Notes

  • Basil pesto: 4°C, up to 2 days, covered with a thin film of oil
  • Champignon confit: 4°C, up to 2 days
  • Cooked chicken: 4°C, same day preferred
  • Finished pasta: best served immediately; not ideal for extended holding
  • Reheat note: if reheating components, rebuild in pan with a small splash of cream or water rather than reheating fully assembled plated pasta

Plating / Service Notes

  • Use warm shallow bowls.
  • Twirl or mound pasta with enough height to feel generous but not bulky.
  • Let the chicken cubes, mushroom pieces, and tomato pieces remain visible through the sauce.
  • Parmesan should fall lightly, not blanket the dish.
  • The popped garnish should come from one or two vivid edible flowers or a few petals only.

Green cream, warm chicken, and quiet red sweetness held in one soft savoury bowl.

Further Reading