By Post-birthday week. The afterglow of forty. I slept seven hours two nights in a row, which is a record I'm attributing to either the therapy or the forty pounds of crawfish I consumed at the party, because both have been known to induce unconsciousness. Dr. Tran said, "Happy birthday, Tommy. How does forty feel?" I said, "Like a dark roux." She said, "Dark how?" I said, "Rich. Deep. Took a long time to get here." She smiled. She understood. The woman who has been listening to me talk about roux for two years finally heard what the roux is: not food. Faith. Dark, slow, patient faith that the thing in the pot will become more than it was. That's what forty is. That's what the roux is. That's what everything is.
Made a simple shrimp stir-fry — the no-roux, no-fuss, fifteen-minute dinner of a man who is forty and tired and happy and done cooking for seventy people and just wants something quick and quiet for five. Shrimp. Vegetables. Rice. The Tuesday version of the Tuesday life. Enough. Always enough.
The party was glorious and enormous and I loved every second of it — and then it was over, and it was Tuesday, and there were five of us at the table instead of seventy, and nobody needed a crawfish boil. They needed dinner. Something warm, something with shrimp because that’s where my head still was, something that didn’t ask too much of me or the clock. Chicken & Shrimp Fettuccine is the answer to that particular Tuesday: one pan, two proteins, a sauce that comes together while the pasta does the work, and enough on the plate to feel like you meant it.
Chicken & Shrimp Fettuccine
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 5
Ingredients
- 12 oz fettuccine
- 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 medium zucchini, sliced into half-moons
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook fettuccine according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, then drain and set aside.
- Season the proteins. Pat chicken strips and shrimp dry. Season both with Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper.
- Cook the chicken. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken strips and cook 4—5 minutes, turning once, until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a plate.
- Cook the shrimp. Add remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet. Add shrimp in a single layer and cook 1—2 minutes per side until pink and just opaque. Transfer to the plate with the chicken.
- Build the sauce. Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic to the skillet and cook 30 seconds until fragrant. Add cherry tomatoes and zucchini and cook 2—3 minutes until slightly softened. Pour in chicken broth, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Finish the sauce. Stir in heavy cream and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook 2—3 minutes until slightly thickened. Add Parmesan and stir until melted. If sauce is too thick, loosen with reserved pasta water a splash at a time.
- Combine and serve. Add the drained fettuccine to the skillet and toss to coat. Return the chicken and shrimp to the pan and gently toss everything together over low heat for 1 minute. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve immediately topped with fresh parsley and extra Parmesan.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 520 | Protein: 38g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 49g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 480mg