Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Chicken and Broccoli with Lemon Vinaigrette

The Wife really likes lemon. I mean really, really likes lemon. She also really likes broccoli. And pasta. She also likes reading Jane Austen books, so I guess nobody's perfect. I'm not sure where I'm going with this.  Anyway, we had a pound of broccoli and a bag of lemons that weren't going to survive much longer so I went to work making a new recipe. I figured I would go with the whole salty/tart vibe. The result was a very tasty pasta dish. Though I served it hot, I imagine this would be a pretty good cold pasta dish for summer. Give it a try! Tell me what you think. As long as it's positive feedback. I figure as long as nobody is paying me to do this, I don't have to listen to any negativity. As always, notes are in blue.

Chicken and Broccoli
with Lemon Vinaigrette
Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup olive oil (use as many virgins as you like)
  • 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • juice of 4 medium lemons
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  • 2 small crowns broccoli (about 1 pound)
  • 1-1/2 pound chicken (I used breast meat. There's no reason you can't use thighs if you prefer)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon capers, drained
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
  • 1 pound rotini pasta
  • 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan (for garnish)
Directions
  1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl. Whisk to incorporate.
  2. In a large pan, heat 1/4 cup of the vinaigrette. Add garlic and capers. Cook for about 3 minutes. Add the chicken. Cook until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. 
  3. Drain the liquid from the chicken and cook another minute or two until the chicken starts to get a bit of brown.
  4. Cook the broccoli however you prefer (Some like to steam it. We prefer to give it a quick boil. Use a microwave bag of frozen if you want. I won't tell anyone.)
  5. Cook the pasta until al dente (I went to school with him. Nice guy). Drain the pasta and return it to the pot you cooked it in (If you didn't cook the pasta in a pot, I guess you're screwed. Just throw everything out and order a pizza)
  6. Now that you have a pot full of drained pasta, add the chicken, broccoli, a generous 1/2 cup of the vinaigrette (you'll have some extra vinaigrette. That's fine. You can use more on the pasta if you'd like or maybe use it as a salad dressing), then add the 1/2 cup grated Parmesan. Give it all a stir until the cheese incorporates. The pot should still be hot enough to melt the cheese.
  7. Garnish with the shredded Parmesan when serving.
Good times!

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