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Lemon Basil Pasta
This pasta was at the request of my beloved Elisa. This recipe is packed with fresh veggies and bright citrus notes. it is reminiscent of an Italian dish, but I'm not italian, so lets' say it's Italian inspired wtih a hint of spring from Stefanie's mind, finished with a touch of Elisa begging for a semi-healthy dinner. She wanted to do use whole wheat pasta, but that's where I draw the line. You can do it if you want to though :-)
You can add any veggies you desire to this recipe. I've used mushrooms and green onions and yellow squash. Bell peppers would be nice as well.
My orininal recipe uses chicken as described below, but I've also used sausage (as pictured above) and it's delicious and somewhat of a shortcut. I recommend an italian sausage, or something like chicken artichoke and gruyer. Go exploring in your grocery store and use your intuition!
Ingredients:
1 pound of pasta, your desired shape. I prefer either cavatappi, pene or bow tie for this one, cooked per package directions.
Two chicken breasts seasoned with:
2 tsp Onion Powder 2 tsp Garlic Powder 1 Tbs Dried Parsley 1 tsp Salt 2 tsp Lemon Pepper
3 Tbs Olive oil 1/2 head of Brocccoli cut into Florets of your desired size 1 clove of garlic 1 tsp dried dill 2 Zucchini, chopped into half moon slices about a 1/2 inch thick 4 Roma Tomatoes, medium dice 1 lb Fresh Spinach, rinsed, stems trimmed and roughly chopped 2 cups Basil, roughly chopped
Sauce:
1 Tbs Butter 2 large Shallot, finely chopped OR 2 tsp onion powder 1 tsp Garlic Powder or one clove fresh, crushed 2 tsp Lemon Pepper 2 Cups Chicken Stock Juice of Two Lemons 2 Cups Half and Half
1 Cup Parm/Mozarella cheese like Blend. 4 Cheese Italian blend works well.
Directions:
Cook your pasta. Drain it and place in a large bowl.
Pound your chicken breasts to an even thickness. This will help it cook more evenly so that you don't end up with dry chickn.
Season the chicken by sprinkling your seasonings evenly over each side of the chicken. Press the seasonings into the chicken so that they stick well.
Chop all of your veggies and set them aside. You will want to keep them seperately, as you will saute them and they each need a different cooking time, so you will add them to the pan at different intervals.
At this point, you can go ahead and put the spinach, tomoatoes and basil in with the pasta.
In a large saute pan, over medium high heat, add 2 Tbs of the oil. As soon as the oil is hot and shimmering, add the chicken breasts and let cook for about three minutes before flipping. If the chicken sticks to the pan at all, it is not ready to flip. Don't be afraid to let the chicken get nice and brown. This will only add more flavor to your finished dish
Once the chicken has cooked through, remove it and let sit on the cutting board while you finish the remaining steps.
Clean out your saute pan (or use another one) and add the tbs of oil to your pan and place over high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the broccoli and saute for 2 minutes. Add the zucchini, garlic and dill and saute or another 2 minutes. You just want to take the crunch off of the veggies, so do not cook them through.
Place the sauteed veggies in the bowl with the pasta.
In the same saute pan, place the butter and shallots. Saute for 2 minutes to soften the shallots, but don't brown them.
Add the chicken stock, garlic and lemon pepper, bringing the stock to a boil. Reduce the stock by half
Once the stock is reduced, add the half and half and lemon juice and lower the heat to low. Bring this to a simmer and let simmer gently (to avoid curdling) until the half and half has reduced by about a 1/3. This step is not overly critical. You do want to reduce it some, so that the sauce thickens, but just go until you feel it's a good thickness.
When the sauce is ready, add it to your pasta bowl
Slice the chicken into slices and add to the pasta.
Dump in the cheese and stir it all together. You will want to take your time so as to distribute the sauce and cheese evenly with the rest of the ingredients.
Serve hot and EnJoy!
