Pasta, Chicken, and the Internet
I love chicken. It is probably my favorite protein. I love pasta. Who doesn't? And, you guessed it, I love the internet.
The internet is today's virtual cookbook. With just a few keystrokes you can have the cooking world at your beck and call. Don't get me wrong, I love my cookbooks, and there is nothing that will ever replace them, but the convenience of internet recipe searches does have a certain appeal.
I have a wonderful network of chef friends who amaze me with their foods. Through them I have honed skills and discovered new recipes that my family and clients love. Like me, they follow various food blogs. Often they will share a link to one that has a particularly wonderful recipe. Such is the case for the Lemon Chicken Pasta with peas that I served at home last night. The recipe is below but be sure to check out the link it came from, Life's A Feast. It is a great blog with a wealth of recipes and resources.
And here's a bonus...not only was is incredible tasting, it was super simple. The resident taste tester gave it two thumbs up and said it's a keeper.
For 2 – 3 people
12 – 14 oz raw chicken tenders or skinless breast
3 Tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tbs olive oil
1 medium to large-sized garlic clove, peeled and minced or crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
9 – 10 ½ oz fresh linguine, pappardelle or your favorite pasta
A few tablespoons flour seasoned with salt and pepper for dusting the chicken
Olive oil for browning
3 medium shallots, chopped (I know this may sound like a lot of shallots, but it isn't in the end.)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
Juice of 1 lemon, about 3 – 4 Tbs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup fresh or frozen peas, optional
A few tablespoons chopped fresh coriander leaves or flat-leaf parsley
Begin this dish early in the day if preparing for dinner or the night before if preparing for lunch. Clean, rinse and pat dry the chicken and cut into very large chunks Place all the chicken in a bowl just big enough to hold them all. Pour the 3 tablespoons lemon juice, the 1 tablespoon olive oil and the minced garlic over the chicken. Salt and pepper , stir so all the chicken is coated in the liquid, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to marinate all day, overnight or at least for several hours. The chicken marinated like this will not only be infused with lemon flavor but once cooked it will be tender and moist.
Once the chicken has marinated, take the bowl out of the fridge and remove the chicken pieces from the marinade. Start a pot with water for the pasta. Salt the water once it comes to a boil.
Heat up about 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet. Toss the chicken pieces in the seasoned flour to coat then shake off the excess flour. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken (you may need to do this in batches as you do no want to crowd them) and allow to cook until the pan side is golden brown and crispy. Turn the pieces over to brown on the other side. Add more olive oil to the pan as needed. As the chicken pieces turn golden brown all over, remove them to a plate.
Cook your pasta in the salted boiling water as you prepare the chicken and sauce. Keep watch over it and drain it when it is done. Place it in a large serving bowl.
Once all of the chicken is browned, quickly and very carefully wipe out the skillet with paper towels then add a couple more tablespoons of olive oil to the hot skillet. Add the chopped shallots and garlic and, tossing and stirring, cook them until they are wilted, tender and caramelizing around the edges, about 2 or 3 minutes. Carefully pour the chicken stock and juice of one lemon over the cooked shallots and garlic. Salt and pepper. Add the peas and lower the heat to allow the broth to simmer for a few minutes until the peas are cooked and tender and the broth and juice are reduced to about half. Carefully add the chicken pieces to the broth just to heat through.
Pour the sauce with the peas and chicken over the cooked pasta and toss gently so the pasta is sauced and the chicken and peas are evenly distributed. Sprinkle the chopped fresh coriander or parsley over the top to toss as you serve.
Source: Life's a Feast Blog, October 2010
My chef friend that provided this link shared that she used tilapia instead of chicken and it was equally as delicious. I see possibilities...
The internet is today's virtual cookbook. With just a few keystrokes you can have the cooking world at your beck and call. Don't get me wrong, I love my cookbooks, and there is nothing that will ever replace them, but the convenience of internet recipe searches does have a certain appeal.
I have a wonderful network of chef friends who amaze me with their foods. Through them I have honed skills and discovered new recipes that my family and clients love. Like me, they follow various food blogs. Often they will share a link to one that has a particularly wonderful recipe. Such is the case for the Lemon Chicken Pasta with peas that I served at home last night. The recipe is below but be sure to check out the link it came from, Life's A Feast. It is a great blog with a wealth of recipes and resources.
And here's a bonus...not only was is incredible tasting, it was super simple. The resident taste tester gave it two thumbs up and said it's a keeper.
Lemon Chicken Pasta with peas
For 2 – 3 people
12 – 14 oz raw chicken tenders or skinless breast
3 Tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tbs olive oil
1 medium to large-sized garlic clove, peeled and minced or crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
9 – 10 ½ oz fresh linguine, pappardelle or your favorite pasta
A few tablespoons flour seasoned with salt and pepper for dusting the chicken
Olive oil for browning
3 medium shallots, chopped (I know this may sound like a lot of shallots, but it isn't in the end.)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
Juice of 1 lemon, about 3 – 4 Tbs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup fresh or frozen peas, optional
A few tablespoons chopped fresh coriander leaves or flat-leaf parsley
Begin this dish early in the day if preparing for dinner or the night before if preparing for lunch. Clean, rinse and pat dry the chicken and cut into very large chunks Place all the chicken in a bowl just big enough to hold them all. Pour the 3 tablespoons lemon juice, the 1 tablespoon olive oil and the minced garlic over the chicken. Salt and pepper , stir so all the chicken is coated in the liquid, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to marinate all day, overnight or at least for several hours. The chicken marinated like this will not only be infused with lemon flavor but once cooked it will be tender and moist.
Once the chicken has marinated, take the bowl out of the fridge and remove the chicken pieces from the marinade. Start a pot with water for the pasta. Salt the water once it comes to a boil.
Heat up about 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet. Toss the chicken pieces in the seasoned flour to coat then shake off the excess flour. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken (you may need to do this in batches as you do no want to crowd them) and allow to cook until the pan side is golden brown and crispy. Turn the pieces over to brown on the other side. Add more olive oil to the pan as needed. As the chicken pieces turn golden brown all over, remove them to a plate.
Cook your pasta in the salted boiling water as you prepare the chicken and sauce. Keep watch over it and drain it when it is done. Place it in a large serving bowl.
Once all of the chicken is browned, quickly and very carefully wipe out the skillet with paper towels then add a couple more tablespoons of olive oil to the hot skillet. Add the chopped shallots and garlic and, tossing and stirring, cook them until they are wilted, tender and caramelizing around the edges, about 2 or 3 minutes. Carefully pour the chicken stock and juice of one lemon over the cooked shallots and garlic. Salt and pepper. Add the peas and lower the heat to allow the broth to simmer for a few minutes until the peas are cooked and tender and the broth and juice are reduced to about half. Carefully add the chicken pieces to the broth just to heat through.
Pour the sauce with the peas and chicken over the cooked pasta and toss gently so the pasta is sauced and the chicken and peas are evenly distributed. Sprinkle the chopped fresh coriander or parsley over the top to toss as you serve.
Source: Life's a Feast Blog, October 2010
My chef friend that provided this link shared that she used tilapia instead of chicken and it was equally as delicious. I see possibilities...
With all these beautiful ingredients how can it be wrong. I love chicken too. My husband makes fun of me and says that instead of talking, I will start to clucking like a chicken lol.
ReplyDeleteOh I hear you there Lana - the internet is THE place to find any recipe isn't it, love it too, certainly comes in handy when your whipping up a dish you've made ages ago & a bit iffy about all the ingredients, just love the biggest cookbook in the world for things like that.
ReplyDeleteHi, you will have seen that the new Food on Friday ingredient is chicken. I noticed that you did this post on chicken which I think would be great linked in. We already have a collection of over 40 recipes which is wonderful. At the moment the Food on Friday edition with the most links is Beef with 73 – I get the feeling though that Chicken could become the new record holder!
ReplyDeleteHave a great day and thank you for following Carole's Chatter. It 's nice to have you along for my blogging journey.