Giada's Chicken in Lemon Cream and Penne

Kace83's Note:

This recipe is incredibly easy and delicious! The lemon makes it really refreshing--we've been enjoying it this summer. I've used different types of pasta (most recently linguini) and all of them have worked really well! A great week-night meal!

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 lb penne pasta (or substitute your favorite type of pasta or spaghetti)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced into 1-inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon herbes de provence
• 1 pinch salt, plus
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 lemon, zest of
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped (I usually just sprinkle dried parsley, still tasts great!)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, season with salt. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Season the cubed chicken with herbes de Provence, salt and pepper. Cook the chicken until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken and set aside. Pour off excess oil from pan.Drain. Add the chicken broth the pan and cook over medium-high heat, scraping up any bits with a wooden spoon. Add the cream, lemon zest, and cayenne. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Add the pasta, chicken, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, chopped parsley, and lemon juice. Toss to coat the pasta and chicken with the sauce and serve.

Reviews

[Chef #1350393]

My husband made this for dinner last night and it was wonderful. He followed recipe, but used fresh chopped basil in place of parsley. Highly recommend.

[Lauren4372]

I made this just as written, but it turned out oily and greasy. The flavour is excellent, never used Herbs de Provence before. Next time, just brown the chicken without the oil in a nonstick pan. Serve with a salad and whatever fresh veggies they have at farmers market.