20 minute meal: chicken penne with spring veggies

by Lindsay Weiss posted in Life & Home

Can you boil water? You can make this pasta dish.

(And best of all, your kids might actually like it.)

This is a super-simple, throw-together-in-twenty-minutes kind of meal. And, since I added chicken to it, it’s an one-dish meal; protein, veggies, carbs…who needs side dishes?

My kiddos happen to like the veggies in this dish — peas, asparagus and tomatoes — but if yours don’t, substitute what they do like. Carrots and peas? Snow peas and squash? Broccoli and yellow pepper? You name it, it will work.

Chicken Penne with Spring Veggies
adapted slightly from Giada de Laurentiis — Food Network
I stirred in a pound of chopped chicken to make this a one-dish meal. If you do the same, make sure to stir it in at the very end, after you’ve thrown in the parmesean. (Otherwise the chicken and parm like to clump together.)

8 ounces penne pasta
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 pounds thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups (about 9 ounces) cherry tomatoes
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
1 cup grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

1 pound chopped, cooked chicken breast

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the asparagus, season with the salt and pepper, and cook for 3 minutes until slightly soft. Add the cherry tomatoes and peas. Cook for 2 minutes. Pour the chicken stock into the pan and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook until the tomatoes start to burst and the stock is reduced by half, about 3 minutes.

Transfer the asparagus mixture to a large serving bowl. Add the cooked pasta and 1/2 of the Parmesan. Toss well, adding reserved pasta water, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Stir in chicken if desired. Garnish with the remaining Parmesan and chopped basil.