A quick and zesty, unbeatable summer pasta dish takes only about ten minutes to prepare and another fifteen to cook. You can balance it with fresh greens, something like
Jinmyo’s Boston Lettuce Salad would be nice. Make sure you have olive oil, garlic and some dried
basil on hand before you head off to the grocery store.
Shopping List:
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil, divided
2 Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breast Halves, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 Carrot, sliced diagonally into ¼ inch pieces
1 (10 ounce) package frozen broccoli florets, thawed
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
12 Ounces Angel Hair Pasta
2/3 Cup Chicken Broth
1 Teaspoon Dried Basil
¼ Cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
Directions
Heat one tablespoon of the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat; add chicken. Cook, stirring until the chicken is cooked through, about five minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels.
Heat the remaining oil in the same skillet. Start the water boiling for the pasta. You can rub the sides of the pot with a little vegetable oil to prevent the water from boiling over. While your waiting for the water add the carrots to the skillet and stir for about four minutes. Add the broccoli and garlic stirring it all for another two minutes longer.
Cook the pasta according to directions. While that’s going, add the chicken broth, basil and Parmesan to the skillet. Return the chicken to the skillet and reduce the heat to low, simmering for four minutes.
Drain the pasta and place it in a large serving bowl. Top off with the chicken and veggies. This will serve 2 to 4, depending upon the rest of the meal. You'll want a white wine with it.
Some helpful hints:
Ounce for ounce, fresh Parmesan cheese is a better value, and tastier , than the canned variety. Wrapped well, it will keep for several weeks in the fridge and six months in the freezer. You can prepare the chicken ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container up to two days before. Simply reheat it and serve over pasta.
If you use garlic in a lot of recipes you can chop several heads of them at once. Put the chopped garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil in an airtight glass container. It will keep stored in the coldest part of the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Why not? For some variety you can use a 10 ounce package of frozen peas instead of the broccoli and a cup of chopped ham for the chicken.