Sunday, January 22, 2012

Chicken Picatta Pasta Toss

I can't believe I've never posted this recipe. It's one of my first meals that I successfully cooked, and has become quite a popular dish requested by friends and family.

This recipe is based on Rachel Ray, but I hesitate to say that this truly takes a half hour to make. The cooking part - yes, but there is a lot of prep time involved. My suggestion is to prep all of the food before getting started to make this stress-free.


Chicken Picatta Pasta Toss


Source: Food Network.com
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds chicken breast tenders, cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and pepper
Adobo seasoning
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
8 cloves garlic, chopped
4 shallots, chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white wine (substitution: Sparkling Apple Cider)
1 lemon, juiced, skin grated
1 cup chicken broth or stock (substitution: vegetable broth)
3 tablespoons capers, drained
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 pound penne rigate pasta, cooked to al dente

Directions
1. Heat a deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and the chicken to the pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper and Adobo. Brown chicken until lightly golden all over, about 5 to 6 minutes.
2. Remove chicken from pan and return the skillet to the heat. Reduce heat to medium. 3. Add another tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter, the garlic and shallots to the skillet. Saute garlic and shallots 3 minutes.
4. Add flour and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in wine or cider and reduce liquid 1 minute.
5. Whisk lemon juice and broth into sauce. Stir in capers and parsley.
6. When the liquid comes to a bubble (about 5-8 minutes later), add remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter to the sauce to give it a little shine.
7. Add chicken back to the pan and heat through, 1 to 2 minutes.
8. Toss hot pasta with chicken and sauce and serve. Adjust salt and pepper, to your taste.
Serves 4.

PS. Garlic bread works incredibly well with this dish! YUM!