Chicken Tetrazzini is an Italian-American dish which was named after a San Francisco opera star (Luisa Tetrazzini) in the early 1900’s. I particularly like the recipe for this dish on the Recipetineats.com web site. In that recipe, the proportions are as follows:

- 4 tbsp (60g) butter , unsalted
- 1lb mushrooms , sliced 1/2 cm / 1/5″ thick
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 onion , finely chopped
- 4 tbsp flour
- 2 cups milk , any fat, any type
- 1 cup cream , heavy / thickened (sub more milk)
- 2 cups chicken stock/broth , low sodium (or water + 2 stock cubes)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cups cheese , shredded (cheddar, jack, colby – not mozz)

I did not use the extra cup of cream in my casserole, but I suppose that would make the dish a bit soupier, and if that is your preference, then by all means, follow your instincts. I used a good quality Irish cheddar and Baby Bella mushrooms, quartered. And I used about half a package of regular dried spaghetti noodles which made a casserole that filled a deep 9″ x 9″ Le Creuset casserole dish.

And – I renamed this dish Chicken Belzoni after one of my favorite historical characters, The Great Belzoni. According to Wikipedia: Giovanni Battista Belzoni (Italian pronunciation: [dʒoˈvanni batˈtista belˈtsoːni]; 5 November 1778 – 3 December 1823), sometimes known as The Great Belzoni, was a prolific Italian explorer and pioneer archaeologist of Egyptian antiquities. He is known for his removal to England of the seven-tonne bust of Ramesses II, the clearing of sand from the entrance of the great temple at Abu Simbel, the discovery and documentation of the tomb of Seti I (still sometimes known as “Belzoni’s Tomb”), including the sarcophagus of Seti I, and the first to penetrate into the Pyramid of Khafre, the second pyramid of the Giza complex.

The Great Belzoni even made a cameo appearance in a romance novel that I wrote under the pen name Bess Willingham many years ago! I was surprised to see that this little novel published in 1996 is still available online. But when I was trying to think of a famous Italian that I wanted to name MY chicken spaghetti dish for, Belzoni was a natural. (Right after Sophia Loren!) And what does Chicken Belzoni have in common with a romance novel? Well, let’s see: A romance novel is easy to read, and seemingly easy to write. But in reality, a lot goes into plotting and pacing a romance novel which by definition has a happy ending. By the same token, the making of this homey casserole involves quite a few steps, including a velouté sauce and the boiling of perfectly slightly underdone noodles. Neither endeavor is rocket science, but both require a modicum of skill, plenty of attention and a bit of heartfelt effort. Most importantly, both are intended to deliver pleasure, pure and simple.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Step 1

Buy a rotisserie chicken. Pull the chicken off the bone, chop it into big bite sized chunks, and set aside.

Step 2

Make the sauce: Melt 4 TBS of butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When it has melted, whisk in the flour. When the roux is smooth and the palest golden color, start adding the chicken stock. The sauce will thicken up. Add the cream. Keep whisking over the heat until you get a sauce that coats the back of the spoon. Season with salt and pepper.

Step 3

Make the onion and mushroom mixture. Melt a pat of butter over medium heat in a skillet. Add the minced onions. Stir over heat until the onion takes on a bit of color. Add the quartered mushrooms and continue stirring. Add the roasted garlic. Add the thyme leaves. Let the butter sizzle up, then deglaze with a splash of white wine. Cook the wine out for just a few minutes. Set the mixture aside.

Step 4

Boil the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling water for about 9 or 10 minutes. You want the pasta slightly underdone because it will cook more in the casserole.

Step 5

Shred the cheese. Chop the scallions. Have everything ready to put together, including the peas.

Step 6

In a large bowl, combine the casserole ingredients: the pasta, the mushrooms, the sauce, the cheese, peas and scallions. Mix with your hands or a big spoon. Pour into the casserole dish. Sprinkle some more cheese over the top.

Step 7

Bake the casserole dish for about thirty minutes or longer if necessary, at 350 degrees. You want a hot bubbly cheesy casserole! Serve with some cracked black pepper over the top!