Chicken Basilica

Photo: flickr user Trishhhh

Ingredients

1 pound fresh chicken tenders

cup olive oil

pound bay shrimp

cup diced shallots

cup Marsala wine

Salt to taste

Freshly-ground black pepper to taste

2 cups chicken stock

1 quart light cream

10 basil leaves julienned

1 pound linguini pasta

4 whls basil leaves

Preparation

Saute chicken tenders in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, salt and pepper lightly. When done, they turn a light brown color. Set aside.

Flash cook bay shrimp in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Sauce: Saute shallots in 1 tablespoon of the remaining olive oil until translucent. Use 8- to 10-inch saute pan. Deglaze pan with Marsala wine. Add one pinch of salt and pepper, add chicken stock. Mix well. Add cream and reduce liquid to 1/2 the amount. Add julienned basil.

Prepare pasta: in small stock pot, put 3 quarts of water with the remaining olive oil. Bring to boil, add linguini pasta, stir, cook, preferably al dente.

Place linguini pasta, approximately 4 ounces on plate. Arrange prepared chicken tenders around and on top of pasta, 4 to 5 per serving. Ladle sauce over top of the chicken tenders and pasta. Crown with 1/4 of the prepared bay shrimp. Garnish with 1 whole basil leaf, placed on top of bay shrimp.

This recipe yields 4 servings.