Instant Pot Creamy Lemon Linguini with Chicken

I haven't written so much about my InstantPot, mostly because I'm busy loving and using it. I've been really wanting to get my recipes in order, before posting about them, since it's a fairly exact science.

So, this pasta recipe is one of my kids favorites and often requested. Not all pasta works well in the IP, as it's easily overcooked and mushy, but linguini works very well. I'll give two different measurements here, depending on how many you are, but it's really only a variation in garlic, pasta and water, I use the same amounts of everything else.

As you can tell from the photos, I  like to eat this with sautéed broccoli (not made in the IP). The kids prefer it plain.



Instant Pot Creamy Lemon Linguini with Chicken
Serves 3-5 (larger amounts in parenthesis below)

to cook:
pat of butter
1 (2) garlic cloves, finely minced
350 (500) g linguini, broken in half
700 (1000) ml water + 1 cube vegetable stock (or just the same amount of stock, depending on how you like to cook)
dash of Vegeta, my favorite little crutch in the kitchen these days
350 g chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
salt, pepper

to finish:
handful of grated parmesan
zest of one lemon
juice of one lemon
100 ml cream

Place your InstantPot on sauté and melt the butter. Let the garlic fry until fragrant. Press cancel on the IP and add linguini, water, stock cube and vegeta. Place the chicken on top, add salt and pepper. Seal your Instant Pot and cook for 5 minutes on high pressure. Let the IP natural release for 5 minutes, then manually release remaining pressure.

Stir in parmesan, lemon zest, lemon juice and cream. Either serve right away, or if it looks a  little runny, sauté for a few minutes.

Spaghetti Triangles

I had some leftover spaghetti, and needed lunch. Like, right now. This took about one minute of prep, and 6 minutes of cooking. Pretty perfect! You could call this spaghetti pizza, fried spaghetti, spaghetti omelette... I think of it mostly as a tortilla or frittata, but I sold it to my toddler as "spaghetti triangles". (Which you can barely see in the photo.. but time was of the essence, so to speak.)

Spaghetti Triangles
serves 1-2
2 eggs
2 slices of smoked ham, cut into strips
1 scallion, cut into thin slices
a big handful of leftover, cooked spaghetti

Heat some peanut (or olive) oil in a skillet - you want it pretty hot!

Mix up the eggs, ham and scallions. Add  in the spaghetti and mix well - using your hand works very well.

Pour it into the hot skillet, and fry for three minutes on each side on medium-high heat.

Cut into wedges - triangles- and serve. Season if you want to, but mine was plenty salty from the ham. I bet sriracha would be good with this, for those seeking a spicy kick.

Summer lunch

Quick summer lunch - perfect for hot days. It's fresh tortellini - this one was mushroom-filled. Asparagus, cooked for just a few minutes. Wedges of perfectly ripe nectarines. Red onions. Parmesan cheese. And a light drizzling of olive oil and white wine vinegar.

Salmon, Spinach & Zucchini Pasta

I haven't forgotten about my Wednesday links - they just have sort of slipped for a little while. I'll get back to them though - promise! Maybe not on Wednesdays though... what's a better day? Friday? Saturday? I keep thinking I should work out some kind of schedule for posting, but I never get around to it.

Oh well. On to the food. How about a quick weeknight pasta? We eat much less pasta now that Titus is eating with us - he just doesn't like it. Or at least he hasn't up until very recently, he seems to be starting to at least tolerate it which makes things easier for us. Because pasta is, let's face it, easy.

Salmon, Spinach & Zucchini Pasta
Serves 2-3

200 g pasta
300 g salmon, in 2 cm dice
1/2 zucchini, sliced into thin half-moons
250 g spinach (frozen and thawed is fine)
1/2 leek, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp cream cheese
200 ml cream (use a bit less if you'd like)
salt, pepper
pinch of nutmeg
olive oil

Boil the pasta according to the instructions.

Meanwhile, make the sauce. Heat a little oil, and fry the leeks, zucchini and garlic for a few minutes. Set aside. Heat some more oil and fry the salmon for a few minutes. Add the spinach, and the leek, zucchini and garlic from before. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Add cream cheese and cream, and let it cook for a few minutes. Finally, toss with the pasta and serve right away.

Recipe in Swedish:
Pasta med lax, spenat och zucchini

Chicken & Bacon Pasta

A quick weekday recipe! I also have to tell you about the pasta I used here - it's from the producer Zeta, and it's made with a bronze press which gives it a great texture. I really enjoyed it, it had a great bite. The shape was called Mezze Maniche, and it was basically short, wide tubes. Yummy!

Chicken & Bacon Pasta
serves 2-3

1/2 rotisserie chicken, or two cooked chicken legs, shredded
70 g bacon
1/2 zucchini, cored and in thin slices
1 red onion, thinly sliced
50 g feta cheese
1-200 ml cream (any fat content you'd like)
200 g pasta

Boil the pasta according to the package, in plenty of salted water. Meanwhile, dice the bacon and fry it in a dry pan. When it's crispy, add the zucchini and onion and fry for a few minutes. Add the chicken and cream, and let it heat through. When the pasta is done, drain - but reserve some of the cooking water - and add to the pan. Crumble in the feta cheese. If the pasta looks dry, add some of the reserved cooking water.

Recipe in Swedish:
Kyckling & Baconpasta