Chicken Pasta with Thyme-Mint Cream Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 pound pasta, such as linguine or fettucine
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup of dry white wine
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh spearmint
• 1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt and more salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Bring 4 quarts of salted water to a heat in a large pot for the pasta, using 1 Tbsp of salt for every 2 quarts. While that gets going, start the chicken. Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, and season the chicken pieces well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the chicken to the hot skillet, spread the pieces out at first, and then leave them alone for a bit so they can brown properly. When one side is lightly browned, turn the pieces with tongs and let the other side brown too.
2. Once the chicken is browned on both sides and just cooked through, transfer it to a paper towel lined plate. Pour the white wine into the pan to deglaze it, using a wooden spoon to work up all those browned bits from the bottom.
3. Add the chicken stock and let the liquid reduce by half, turning up the heat if you need to. Stir in the cream, mint, thyme, lemon zest, honey, salt, and vinegar, then let the sauce reduce by half again.
4. When the pasta water reaches a boil, add the pasta and cook it according to the directions on the pasta package.
5. When the pasta is done, save a half cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta. Once the cream sauce has reduced by half and is thick enough to coat a spoon, add the pasta to the sauce.
6. Add the chicken to the pasta and sauce, then season with more salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste — be generous with both. If the pasta needs a little loosening after a few minutes, add back some of the reserved pasta water.
7. Serve immediately, finished with a little chopped fresh mint and thyme.