Friday Finds: Linguine with Roasted Chicken Breast & Broccolini

I don't normally take a LOT of liberties with recipes I find in cookbooks-- especially Giada's because they are always straightforward and delicious.  Planning for this meal though, I found myself making a few tweaks and the recipe sort of evolved beyond the cookbook version... not your typical Friday Find post!

The original recipe is in Giada's Family Dinners and the true title is "Fresh Fettucine with Roasted Chicken & Broccoli Rabe."  Well, as you know I have tons of dry pasta hanging out in my house so I decided we were using dry whole grain linguine in place of her fresh fettucine, which changed the cooking directions sligthly.  Also, my grocery store deli carries both whole rotisserie chickens and just rotisserie chicken breasts (oh happy day!), so my version was made with just white meat chicken breast.  My grocery store had that going for it, however they don't sell broccoli rabe and it was too cold to venture to another store that day.  So I used broccolini instead.  To top it all off, the recipe calls for tossing in pine nuts, but Alex is highly allergic so I toasted them on the side and added them to my bowl when we were ready to eat.

And there you have it: the evolution of a recipe.  The wonderful thing about pasta dishes is that they are really versatile and you can make swaps like these without ruining the integrity of the dish.  In many online reviews, other cooks said they used regular broccoli, mushrooms, or sundried tomatoes in this recipe too.  Those all sound like delicious options!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound broccolini, trimmed, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
• 8 oz. linguine *I used Barilla Whole Grain
• 1 (14 oz.) can reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 3 cups shredded roasted chicken breast
• 3/4 cup fresh Parmesan, grated
• 2 Tbs. flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbs. lemon zest
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions.  With about 2 minutes left, add broccolini and cook until crisp-tender. Drain the pasta and broccolini, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, bring the broth and lemon juice to a boil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Boil until the broth reduces by half, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken and simmer just until heated through, about 2 minutes. Add broccolini and pasta to the broth mixture and stir to combine. Add 1/2 cup of Parmesan, parsley, oil, and lemon zest. Toss to coat, adding some of the reserved cooking liquid, 1/4 cup at a time, to moisten as needed. Season the pasta with salt and pepper, to taste. Mound the pasta into bowls and serve. Sprinkle with pine nuts and remaining parmesan and serve.

Inspired by original recipe found in Giada's Family Dinners by Giada De Laurentiis.