Lemon Pepper Chicken Pasta

Fresh and simple but packs a punch of flavor. You’ll find a ton of pasta recipes on here because my wife LOVES pasta so we eat it often (probably too much for our health; but as we say, pasta feeds the soul). The most important thing here is to use fresh ingredients wherever possible.

1 lb preferred pasta (I like penne for this), cooked

4 lemons, juiced

1/4 cup water

3 large cloves garlic, minced

3 large shallots, diced

1 lb asparagus, chopped in bite sized pieces

2 medium tomatoes (Roma or small slicing tomatoes are perfect), diced

2 Tbsp butter (half for veggies, half for finishing)

3 chicken breasts, cubed

2 tsp chicken base (or bullion)

2 tsp salt (or to taste)

1 tsp oregano

2 tsp poultry seasoning

1 Tbsp black pepper (fresh ground if possible)

1 Tbsp flour

Start with butter in a pan over medium heat and add shallots. Cook until slightly soft. Now asparagus and garlic go in and get sautéed until desired consistency on asparagus. The wife and I like it a bit floppy but many like the crisp freshness of a more “Al dente“ asparagus.

Add in your tomatoes for just a minute or two until the soften and lose just a bit of acidity. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add a little oil to the pan and cook chicken cubes until golden brown. Add the flour to coat the chicken and cook for a minute or two so you don’t get a floury taste at the end. Add in your chicken base and all seasonings and stir. Now lemon juice and water to deglaze the pan. Make sure you scrape anything off the bottom of the pan. That’s where the flavor is. Let simmer for 10-15 min until a bit thickened. Stir in your cooked vegetables and then finally stir in your pasta. Add the extra Tbsp of butter, and Parmesan cheese if desired, and stir. Serve with fresh herbs, basil or parsley would both be great, and lemon zest.

Other thoughts:

1. This would be great with just about any fresh seasonal vegetable in it. Zucchini, summer squash, or peas!

2. I would have done a chiffonade basil on top but it was raining and I didn't want to go to the garden

3. A drizzle of cayenne oil (We use Saratoga Olive oil) gives that extra kick that you might want

4. Sometimes if I want it to be extra decadent I will put a dash of heavy cream in at the end and allow to heat through

As always, only products I actually use (or desperately want) will be linked here even if they may give me a cut of the profits.