Tasty Tuesday: Lemon Dijon Chicken Pasta

If you've been reading Divulge and Indulge for any length of time, you've probably discovered that I really love pasta. Not only is it quick, easy, and filling, it's also versatile. There are tons of types of pasta and just as many (if not more!) types of sauce. Pasta was one of the first things I experimented with when I was learning to cook, and it remains one of my favorite things to play around with in the kitchen.

The recipe I'm sharing today is a perfect example of what happens when I decide to experiment a bit with pasta. I took a simple chicken recipe and decided to tweak it to make a creamy, delicious (and completely unhealthy!) pasta dish.

It may not look like much, but this creamy pasta has a rich, tangy flavor. Delicious!

I've been on a bit of a Dijon mustard kick lately, so I was excited to try it in a pasta sauce. The lemon, Dijon, and capers created a rich, tangy sauce, while the shallot and white wine added a hint of sweetness. It was just as good as I'd hoped it would be ... Almost good enough to be worthy of a restaurant!

Since it contains quite a bit of heavy cream, this dish is a little too decadent to eat on a regular basis. But if you're looking for something a little different (and you're not counting calories!), I'd highly recommend giving this a try. I'll definitely be making it again in the future!

Lemon Dijon Chicken Pasta

Adapted from a recipe on Campbell's Kitchen.


Ingredient List:

• 1 box short pasta (I used Garofalo organic gemelli from Costco)
• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I only used 3, but they were very large)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lemon
• 1 medium shallot, diced
• 2 tbsp capers, rinsed and drained
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 clove garlic (or, if you're lazy like me, the equivalent of jarred, pre-minced garlic)
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp black pepper
• Shredded Parmesan cheese for serving

Instructions:

1.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

2.  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Season the chicken with the sea salt and black pepper and cook until browned on both sides.

3.  While the chicken is cooking, add the pasta to the boiling water. Cook according to package instructions until al dente and drain.

4.  Once the chicken is completely cooked through, remove it from the skillet. (I just placed mine on a cutting board so that I could cut it up into smaller cubes. It's entirely optional to cut up the chicken for this meal, but I typically like to have smaller pieces of chicken in my pasta so I can get a bite of meat with each bite of noodles.)

5.  Remove any excess oil from the skillet. Turn the heat down to medium and cook the shallot and capers for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

6.  Squeeze in the juice from the lemon and add the garlic. Cook for another 30 seconds (or until the garlic is fragrant), stirring the mixture several times as it cooks.

7.  Pour in the heavy cream, white wine, and Dijon mustard and bring the sauce to a boil.

8.  Reduce the heat to low, and stir the chicken into the sauce. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

9.  Remove the skillet from the heat, allowing the sauce to stand for about 5 minutes. Stir in the drained pasta, making sure to thoroughly mix it with the sauce. Top with shredded Parmesan cheese.

Since this is such a heavy dish, I served it with a simple green salad. (Okay, and a glass of white wine ... After all, what's a flavorful, creamy plate of pasta without a glass of crisp, delicious wine?)