Delicious chicken pasta
The key to making a delicious meal is starting with fresh and whole ingredients. Last Saturday’s visit to the Guelph Farmer’s Market led to buying a lot of fresh produce, followed by a quick trip to a local grocery store to grab some ingredients that give that finishing touch. This week, the recipe chosen to share from my kitchen is a delicious chicken pasta – if you are a vegetarian, don’t worry, simply remove the chicken, and (trust me) the mouthwatering tastiness level will not decrease!
The ingredient/grocery list is as follows:
– Boneless, skinless chicken breast
– Farfalle (bowtie) pasta
– Red bell pepper
– Yellow bell pepper
– Fresh basil
– Parmesan cheese
– Goat cheese
– Spinach
– Basil pesto
– Red onion
– Fresh garlic
– Mushrooms
– Olive oil
– Fresh ground black pepper
– Sundried tomatoes
– Artichoke hearts
Start of by drizzling olive oil in a large saucepan and place the chicken breasts (whole) in the pan. It might be a good idea to sprinkle the chicken with some mixed Italian seasoning to add a little extra flavour. Cook the chicken until almost fully cooked (you’ll be able to tell because it will be golden brown with no pink showing, but it will still seem juicy) then remove the chicken from the pan and place on a plate or cutting board while you make the rest of the dish. You will want to do this to ensure you aren’t left with dry chicken – because nothing is worse than dry, hard to swallow chicken.
Next, in the same sauce pan, add a little more olive oil to the juices left from the chicken and add in chopped onion, red and yellow bell peppers, mushrooms, garlic, and spinach and allow for all the flavours to blend together and the vegetables to soften up a bit. Then, add the freshly sliced basil, artichoke hearts, and sundried tomatoes.
While all of this is going on, start a pot of water, let it come to a rapid boil and add pasta, cooking it al dente. Slice the chicken thinly and add it back into the saucepan with a tablespoon of basil pesto. Drain the boiled pasta, and toss it alone with Parmesan cheese and basil pesto, to desired taste.
The final step is adding the pasta into the saucepan, stirring everything together and crumbling goat cheese on top.
This is one of my all time favourite dishes. Enjoy!