Amanda Laird: Cappellacci with mushrooms, chicken, sage and fontina

Cappellacci with mushrooms, chicken, sage and fontina. Photo / Babiche Martens

Serves 4

Water
Salt
20 cappellacci
Olive oil
3 chicken thighs
½ cup chicken stock
¼ cup white wine
¼ cup cream
1 cup sliced Swiss brown mushrooms
16 spinach leaves, sliced
80g fontina cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
Fresh sage


1 Preheat oven to 200 C. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil then add pasta and cook following packet instructions, but drain 3 minutes before the time specified. Pasta should be nearly cooked and still firm.

2 Drizzle over a little olive oil and gently toss with your fingers, then lay close together in a greased baking dish.

3 Heat a pan, add 1 Tbs of olive oil then sear the chicken on one side. When golden brown, turn and let colour on the other side.

4 Pour over the stock, wine and cream, season and put on a lid. Turn the heat to low and let gently finish cooking for approximately 10 minutes.

5 In another pan, add 1 Tbs olive oil and toss the mushrooms for 2-3 minutes. Remove and add the spinach, stirring for a minute or until wilted.

6 Assemble the dish by dividing up the sliced chicken, mushrooms and spinach between the cappellacci. Dot with pieces of fontina and pour the sauce from the chicken in between. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden and bubbling. Scatter with sage leaves and add a grind of pepper before serving.