Try this Need a Quickie recipe, or contribute your own.
- garlic powder to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 clove garlic thinly sliced
- 1 (16 ounce) package dried penne pasta
- 5 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut int
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 bunch slender asparagus spears trimmed, cut on diagonal into 1-inch pieces
- Carbohydrate 0.493960000053888 g
- Cholesterol 0.916666667834676 mg
- Fat 3.11444750158585 g
- Fiber 0.0511499980290731 g
- Protein 0.759425000510473 g
- Saturated Fat 0.569266250396174 g
- Serving Size 1 1 cup (25g)
- Sodium 74.5977621730961 mg
- Sugar 0.442810002024815 g
- Trans Fat 0.0956945833893683 g
- Calories 32 calories
Step-by-step
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and set aside.
- Warm 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in chicken, and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook until chicken is cooked through and browned, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken to paper towels.
- Pour chicken broth into the skillet. Then stir in asparagus, garlic, and a pinch more garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cover, and steam until the asparagus is just tender, about 5 to 10 minutes. Return chicken to the skillet, and warm through.
- Stir chicken mixture into pasta, and mix well. Let sit about 5 minutes. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, stir again, then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Overcooking chicken breast is the single most common error made when combining poultry with quick-cooking vegetables in a skillet. Because boneless, white meat lacks internal fat stores, it transitions from juicy to chalky within seconds once internal moisture evaporates past 165 degrees Fahrenheit. When searing pieces cut to roughly one-inch widths over medium-high heat, look for a deep golden-brown exterior crust to form at the five-minute mark, which signals that proteins have properly caramelized via the Maillard reaction without completely drying out the interior fibers.
Achieving proper texture relies entirely on managing residual moisture and starch retention between the components. Steaming the slender asparagus spears in a covered skillet with low-sodium chicken broth for five to ten minutes concentrates aromatics while keeping the vegetable crisp-tender rather than waterlogged. Letting the drained penne rest undisturbed for five minutes before finishing allows the surface starches to gelatinize slightly with the added olive oil and Parmesan cheese, creating a cohesive coating rather than an oily puddle at the bottom of the bowl.
