Tagliatelle with Chicken and Green Asparagus in the Thermomix® uses the Varoma function for parallel cooking: while the white wine and butter sauce comes together in the mixing bowl, chicken breast and asparagus cook gently above in 100 °C steam. One bowl, three components, 40 minutes.
We make this recipe from spring through summer, when green asparagus is in season and we have no desire to keep an eye on three pots at once. The trick is that the Varoma levels use the rising moisture from the mixing bowl without diluting any of the flavours. The chicken stays juicy and the asparagus keeps its bite.
Tagliatelle with Chicken and Green Asparagus, Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 14 ✓
- 2 spring onions
- 150 g carrot
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 500 g green asparagus
- 400 g chicken breast fillet
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
- 200 g white wine
- 500 g tagliatelle
- 1 lime unwaxed
- 100 g butter softened
- 250 g chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 3 tsp cornflour
Instructions 0 / 8
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1
Chop the vegetables.
Wash and trim the spring onions and carrots, cut into pieces, add to the mixing bowl and chop for 5 sec / speed 6.
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2
Sweat the vegetables.
Add the olive oil and cook for 5 min / Varoma / speed 1.
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3
Prepare the asparagus.
Meanwhile, wash the asparagus, peel the lower half of any thick spears, cut off the dry ends, cut into pieces roughly 4 cm long and spread in the Varoma dish.
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4
Prepare the chicken.
Season the chicken fillets with 1/2 tsp salt, pepper and paprika and place on the Varoma tray.
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5
Steam the chicken.
Add the white wine with 1/2 tsp salt to the mixing bowl, place the Varoma in position and steam for 20 min / Varoma / speed 1.
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6
Cook the pasta.
Meanwhile, cook the tagliatelle according to the packet instructions and keep warm. Wash the lime, grate the zest and squeeze the juice.
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7
Make the sauce.
Remove the Varoma dish, cut the butter into pieces and add to the mixing bowl along with the chicken stock, lime zest, 2 tsp lime juice and cornflour, then whisk for 10 sec / speed 8.
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8
Serve.
Arrange the tagliatelle with the chicken and asparagus, spoon the sauce over the top and serve.
Tip: You can use the remaining lime juice for a salad dressing.
Nutrition per serving
Why Varoma steaming works so well for this recipe
Steaming at exactly 100 °C (Varoma setting) has three advantages over cooking in water or a frying pan. First, water-soluble vitamins remain in the asparagus because there is no cooking water to drain away. Second, the chicken does not dry out because the constant moisture prevents protein loss. Third, the white wine and butter emulsion runs simultaneously in the mixing bowl without any stirring from us.
The 20-minute cooking time at speed 1 is not negotiable: shorter and the chicken stays pink inside, longer and the asparagus becomes stringy. Unlike white asparagus, green asparagus does not need peeling along its entire length, only the lower half of very thick spears.
Lime instead of lemon as the acid anchor
The lime in this recipe is not just a substitute citrus option. Lime zest contains essential oils with terpenes that cut through the richness of the butter without making the sauce taste sour. We grate only the green outer layer, leaving the white pith behind as it is bitter. We use 2 tsp of juice for the sauce and the rest can go into a salad dressing.
Lemon would work, but gives a different flavour: sharp and citrusy rather than fresh and floral. If you cannot find an unwaxed lime, use an organic lemon and reduce the juice to 1 tsp.
Butter and stock emulsion in 10 seconds
After steaming, the Varoma comes off and we add softened butter, chicken stock, lime zest, lime juice and cornflour to the mixing bowl. 10 seconds at speed 8 emulsifies the butter with the stock into a smooth, uniform sauce. The cornflour binds not through heat (as with a roux) but mechanically through the rapid mixing action.
Important: the butter must be soft (at room temperature), otherwise lumps of fat will form. Cold butter straight from the fridge will not emulsify cleanly. If the sauce is too thin, add 1 more tsp of cornflour. If it is too thick, pour in an extra 50 g of stock.
Spring onions as the flavour base
The spring onions and carrots are chopped for 5 seconds at speed 6, then cooked in olive oil for 5 minutes at Varoma temperature. This step breaks down the sulphur compounds that would otherwise taste sharp and lightly caramelises the sugars in the carrots. The result is the mild, slightly sweet base beneath the butter and lime sauce.
Regular onions work too, but bring more sharpness. Shallots would be too sweet. Spring onions have the best balance between mild onion flavour and a light sweetness.
White wine as the steaming base
The 200 g of white wine in the mixing bowl is not there to flavour the sauce (most of it evaporates) but to provide aromatic steam for the chicken and asparagus. Alcohol evaporates at 78 °C, water only at 100 °C. During steaming the alcohol vapour rises first, then the water vapour. This leaves a subtle wine note in the chicken without it tasting of alcohol.
A dry white wine (Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris) works better than a sweet one, because residual sugar can caramelise and become sticky as it evaporates. Vegetable stock instead of wine is fine too, but you will lose some depth of flavour.
Cooking the tagliatelle in parallel
While the Thermomix® runs its 20-minute Varoma cooking time, we cook the tagliatelle separately in a pot according to the packet instructions. This does not save a step, but we can control the firmness better than if we tried to cook pasta in the Thermomix® (it works, but it often comes out soft and overcooked).
500 g of tagliatelle for 4 servings is the standard quantity for this recipe. If you want larger portions, increase only the pasta, not the other ingredients. The sauce will still be enough, as 250 g of stock and 100 g of butter are sufficient for 600 g of pasta.
Chicken breast in the Varoma: juicy with no extra effort
We season the chicken before steaming with salt, pepper and paprika. The spices penetrate during the 20 minutes without any need to marinate. Important: the chicken goes on the Varoma tray (upper level), not directly in the Varoma dish. The tray has larger holes, allowing more steam to circulate.
After cooking the meat is completely done (core temperature above 75 °C) but not dry. If you have a meat thermometer: 74 °C is ideal and the chicken will be at its juiciest. Above 80 °C it becomes stringy.
Serving: order matters
We plate the tagliatelle first, then add the asparagus and chicken (sliced into bite-sized pieces or kept as a whole fillet), and spoon the sauce over last. Not the other way round: if the sauce goes on the bottom, the pasta will go soggy. The butter and lime emulsion needs to be the top layer so it looks fresh and glossy when served.
If there is leftover sauce: it keeps in the fridge for 2 days, but the emulsion will separate as it cools. Before reheating, blend for 30 seconds at speed 3 and 60 °C and it will come back together.
Ingredient swaps
Instead of green asparagus you can use white, but peel it completely and increase the cooking time to 25 minutes (white asparagus is firmer). Salmon fillets work in place of chicken breast (15 minutes is enough) or prawns (12 minutes only). Vegetable stock instead of chicken stock makes the dish vegetarian if you leave out the chicken and add 300 g of mushrooms to the Varoma instead.
Fettuccine or pappardelle work just as well as tagliatelle. Spaghetti would not hold the sauce as well because they are too smooth. Ribbon pasta is the right texture for butter emulsions.
Goes well with: Parmesan.
For more Thermomix® pasta recipes, try Spaghetti Carbonara in the Thermomix®. If you are looking for another asparagus dish, have a go at Green Asparagus Gratin in the Thermomix®. We have gathered all the asparagus recipes of the season in Asparagus in the Thermomix®.
