The Opposite of Hospital Food, Part Two : Creamy Chicken Piccata Pasta

Rainy winter days make me antsy for a cheesy, meaty pasta dish. Yesterday, however, the infectious “new-hip” spirit permeating our house entered me with its spirit of novelty, and I decided to switch up “cheesy and meaty” for… lemon.

Lemon?!

I stared at this recipe for a few weeks with fear in my bones before accepting the idea of a lemony chicken pasta dish. Lemon and pasta seemed like a somewhat dissonant combination. However, as my fellow choir-geeks know well, sometimes a little dissonance can add up to a lot of gold. (I’m looking at you, Eric Whitacre.)

Chicken Piccata Pasta

Ingredients:

2 boneless chicken breasts, Penne pasta

Chicken Marinade:

3 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon assorted black peppercorns

½ teaspoon ground basil

Pasta Sauce:

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoons minced garlic

½ cup heavy cream

1 ½ teaspoons dried basil

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1.       Cube chicken. Marinate in refrigerator for at least twenty minutes; preferably overnight.

2.      Sautee chicken in marinade until well cooked.

3.      Cook pasta according to instructions and drain. Mix pasta sauce ingredients over medium heat until bubbly and well mixed.

4.      Mix pasta, sauce and chicken over low heat. 

— Alyssa