Description
Warm, glossy sauce coats tender chicken and bright green broccoli in this easy weeknight bowl.
Ingredients
Scale
- 500 g (1.1 lb) boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2–3 cm (1-inch) pieces
- 1 tsp (5 g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp (1.5 g) black pepper
- 15 ml (1 tbsp) olive oil
- 45 g (3 tbsp) unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 15 g (1 tbsp) all-purpose flour (optional)
- 240 ml (1 cup) chicken stock
- 240 ml (1 cup) whole milk or half-and-half
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) heavy cream (optional)
- 100 g (1 cup, packed) grated Parmesan cheese
- 300 g (10.6 oz) broccoli florets
- 15 ml (1 tbsp) fresh lemon juice
- Fresh parsley, chopped
- 400 g (14 oz) pasta (fettuccine or linguine)
Instructions
- Prep the chicken, broccoli, and pasta. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta and set a bowl of ice water ready for the broccoli.
- Blanch the broccoli. Add broccoli florets to the boiling water for 1 minute, then transfer to ice water to stop cooking.
- Cook the pasta. Add pasta to boiling water and cook 2 minutes less than package directions, reserving 240–360 ml (1–1.5 cups) of starchy pasta water before draining.
- Sear the chicken. Heat olive oil in the skillet and sear chicken for 2–3 minutes per side until golden and fully cooked.
- Build the sauce. Sauté garlic in butter, add flour if using, then whisk in chicken stock and milk. Simmer until slightly thickened.
- Finish with cheese and emulsify. Add Parmesan, cream if using, and reserved pasta water to reach desired consistency.
- Combine pasta, chicken, and broccoli, tossing until the pasta finishes cooking and sauce clings.
Notes
Use starchy pasta water to help sauce cling and feel creamy without adding more butter or cream. Make-ahead by cooking chicken and blanching broccoli a day prior.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 820
- Sugar: 6g
- Sodium: 820mg
- Fat: 42g
- Saturated Fat: 20g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 64g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 44g
- Cholesterol: 165mg