Posh Chicken and Noodles

Ingredients:
8 small chicken thighs (or a small/medium whole chicken)
150g (just over 5 oz.) tagliatelle or medium egg noodles
50g (1.5 oz.) pine nuts
dash dry Rosemary
dash dry Thyme
Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper to taste
Olive Oil
Handful of fresh Flatleaf Parsley - roughly chopped
Fresh grated Grana Padano or Parmesan to garnish

I saw Nigella Lawson make a similar dish several years ago & was inspired.  I made a few subtle changes to her recipe & came up with this.  It couldn't be simpler & is great for family members of all ages, provided nobody has a pine nut allergy.  For the sake of value for money, juiciness & flavour, I prefer to use chicken thighs, but the recipe could easily be adjusted to use a small to medium whole chicken if you prefer.

Method:
Place the chicken thighs together in a baking dish & rub with plenty of olive oil & a few dashes of sea salt & cracked black pepper.  Put a couple of tablespoons of water in the bottom of the pan & cover with foil.  Cook at 190 Celsius (375 F) for about 40 minutes before removing the foil.  Once foil is removed, cook uncovered for 30 minutes at 200 Celsius (390 F).  Remove chicken from oven & set aside to cool for handling, reserving the juices in the pan.  Cook noodles in salted water until al dente.  Lightly toast the pine nuts in a dry pan with a few dashes of sea salt & cracked black pepper.  Tear the chicken from the bone into rough shreds.  I'm not a fan of skin, but if you like skin, you can also include some of the crispier pieces with the meat.  Pour the chicken cooking juices into a large pot, turn to a low simmer & toss in the torn chicken, the toasted pine nuts, a dash each of dry Rosemary & dry Thyme & the fresh chopped Parsley.  When all of this is combined, toss in the noodles & toss around with 2 spoons in order to fully mix & coat the noodles.  Add another dash or 2 of salt & pepper & it's finished!  

This is serious comfort food.  We like to serve it with a topping of grated Grana Padano cheese, a little fresh sliced cucumber in vinaigrette & some chunky fresh French or Italian bread with a side bowl of balsamic vinaigrette for dipping.  Enjoy!

The chicken before the oven

Lightly toasted pine nuts

Ready to serve

On the plate.  Enjoy!