Broccoli-Chicken Pasta... quick, easy and delicious



Chicken, broccoli, and pasta - always a great combination! We mixed them with a delicious walnut cream sauce. This is the first time we've tried a nut sauce with pasta. It's actually very easy and so delicious. We used olive oil b/c didn't have any walnut oil - not too sure if you would be able to taste the difference or not. We also used white farfalle pasta b/c Harris Teeter didn't have any wheat. As usual, we also used cilantro instead of parsley. Top with some freshly grated parmeson cheese and enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup walnuts
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
  • 4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoon walnut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
  • 16 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed of fat, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 8 ounces whole-wheat farfalle pasta
  • 2 cup small broccoli florets
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips

Directions

  1. Put a large saucepan of water on to boil. Combine walnuts, garlic, salt, pepper and cayenne in a blender; pulse until finely chopped. Blend in broth, parsley and lemon juice until smooth and creamy.
  2. Heat oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring often, until it is no longer pink in the middle, 3 to 5 minutes.
  3. Cook pasta for 5 minutes. Add broccoli and bell pepper, cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta and vegetables are just tender, about 4 minutes more. Drain, return to the pot. Add the walnut sauce and chicken; toss to coat.

4 comments:

Dewi said...

Sometimes I drizzle walnut oil on my pasta dish, but never really added the actual walnut. This must taste really delicious. It's very interesting that you use cilantro instead of parsley. I must try that.
Have a great week-end
Cheers,
Elra

Unknown said...

That does look super scrumptious!

test it comm said...

Chicken, broccoli and pasta is such a great combination!

grace said...

if i'm gonna eat broccoli, i want it surrounded by goodness like this. i love that you threw walnuts in there--they'd provide a great, surprising crunch!

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