Chicken & Broccoli Pasta

I got the idea for this dish from a recipe on the box of an imported cheese. The recipe called for 500 g. of cheese. Right, melt the entire block of cheese to make the sauce. Had I done that, the sauce would have been too thick. I decided to melt half the amount of cheese with a basic white sauce. Using chicken broth instead of water for the white sauce would give it more body and flavor.

Adding pimiento was not in my original plan. I had already added the broccoli and diced chicken meat into the sauce when I realized that the sauce looked flat. I took a small can of skinned sweet pimiento and dumped its contents into the sauce. Within seconds, the aroma wafted from the saucepan. The color looked so much better too. I tasted the sauce and I knew I made the right decision. It was great.

Ingredients :

250 g. of pasta (spaghetti or fetuccine is suggested)
1 c. of diced chicken meat
1/4 c. of chopped sweet pimiento (canned)
1/8 c. of pimiento juice
1 head of broccoli, broken into florets
1/8 c. + 1 tbsp. of butter or margarine
2 tbsp. of all-purpose flour
1 c. of full-cream milk
1 c. of chicken broth
125 g. of cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes
salt and pepper to taste

Cooking procedure :

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain. Toss with 1 tbsp. of butter or margarine and arrange on a platter. Keep warm.

Melt 1/8 c. of butter or margarine in a medium-sized saucepan. Add flour all at once, stirring to prevent lumps from forming. Cook the flour over medium-high heat for 1 minute or until golden. Pour in the chicken broth in a thin stream, stirring. Add the diced chicken meat, broccoli florets, pimiento and pimiento juice. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a soft boil. Lower the heat and add the cheese cubes. Simmer for 1 minute or until the cheese melts (a minute should be enough to cook the broccoli florets). Pour in the milk and cook just until the sauce is bubbly. Pour over the cooked pasta.