Chicken and Blue Cheese Pasta

We had a couple of friends over for a games night, and I put together a charcuterie platter from some of my favourite shops on Granville Island. I had not been in probably a year, and it was great to get back to Oyama Sausage - which finally has a ticket system for taking your orders! I also visited Benton Brothers Cheese and asked the nice young man at the counter to suggest a couple of cheeses for a platter - a hard, a blue and a brie/camembert. The service was great, and he had me try each cheese before making a decision. I decided to go with a milder blue, as not everyone is a huge fan, and wanted something soft and creamy. His suggestion, a Saint Agur Blue, was perfect, so I bought a larger piece in order to have some leftover to cook with. This recipe came together nicely with ingredients I had on hand, and according to Brent was something he would be happy to have ordered in a restaurant.


Chicken and Blue Cheese Pasta (all measurements are approximate)
- one chicken breast, cut in about 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 cup nuts (I used pecans, walnuts would have worked really well too)
- 1 cup blue cheese
- juice from half a lemon
- 2 cups pasta (I used spaghettini, any pasta would do)
- parmesan cheese for serving

In large pot of salted boiling water cook pasta according to directions. During last 2-3 minutes add frozen peas. Drain, reserving about 1/2 - 1 cup cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, heat 1-2 tbsp vegetable oil in pan over medium-high heat. Brown chicken until cooked through. Add nuts and toss to heat. Add drained pasta, peas, blue cheese, lemon juice and enough cooking liquid as needed. Toss while cheese melts, adding more cooking liquid and lemon juice to taste.