Greek Spaghetti with Chicken

The tomato sauce project: two days of work, the big August project. I picked everything that was ripe or getting there — twenty-plus pounds from all the varieties — and ran it through the food mill, then cooked it down with garlic and basil and good olive oil for hours until it reduced into something thick and deep. Sixteen quarts, labeled and dated, on the cellar shelf. Sixteen quarts of August in glass jars, waiting for winter.

Carol came on Saturday and helped, the way she helps — not following directions but just doing her part without coordination, the way two people who've worked kitchens together their whole lives work together. She ran the jars through the canner while I worked the mill. The kitchen was hot and smelled of tomatoes and that was completely fine. Some work should involve being warm and smelling of what you're making.

There's a particular satisfaction in putting food up. It's not just practicality — I could buy jarred tomatoes at the store, and they'd be fine. It's something more about the completeness of the cycle: the seeds I saved from last year's Brandywines, planted in February, tended through the spring, growing through the summer, harvested and processed and put away for February of next year. The circle closing. I think about my grandmother doing this work in August and her mother before her. Some things persist because they're worth persisting.

Finn starts first grade next week. Sarah texted a photo of his school supplies laid out on the table: a lined notebook, new crayons in pristine rows, a lunchbox with a dinosaur on it. He looked very serious about all of it in the photo, which is the correct attitude toward first grade supplies.

I hadn’t planned to open a jar so soon — they’re meant for February, after all — but the week after the canning project, with Finn starting first grade and the kitchen still smelling faintly of basil, it felt right to cook something that actually used what we’d made. This Greek spaghetti with chicken is the kind of dinner that rewards good sauce: the tomatoes are the backbone of the whole thing, and ours, cooked down from those twenty-plus pounds of Brandywines and whatever else was ripe, gave it exactly the depth it needed. Carol would approve.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
12 oz spaghetti
2 cups homemade or good-quality tomato sauce
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, plus more for serving
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

Instructions

Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, then drain and set aside.
Brown the chicken. Heat olive oil in a large deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and cooked through, about 6–8 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Build the sauce. In the same skillet, reduce heat to medium and add the onion. Cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, thyme, and red pepper flakes and stir for 1 minute until fragrant.
Simmer. Pour in the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Stir to combine and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook uncovered for 10–12 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly. Add a splash of reserved pasta water if it gets too thick.
Combine. Return the chicken to the skillet along with the Kalamata olives. Stir to coat everything in the sauce and heat through, about 2 minutes.
Finish and serve. Add the drained spaghetti to the skillet and toss well to combine. Fold in the crumbled feta. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Serve topped with additional feta and fresh parsley.

Nutrition (per serving)

Greek Spaghetti with Chicken — The First Jar Off the Shelf