Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Lemon Basil Chicken Carbonara

Last night I stuck two chicken breasts in the fridge to defrost and I figured if they will be sitting in the fridge anyway they might as well be sitting in something tasty. 

I am a huge fan of lemon...anyone who knows me also knows I will take lemon over chocolate any day...call me crazy. I like that lemon is a food chameleon, it moves easily from vinaigrette, to marinade, to dessert and back, it's all purpose. I'm also a huge fan of basil and though not as multi-faceted as lemon is a wonderful compliment in a marinade (it's also in abundance, languishing unwatered in a pot on my balcony - begging to be picked). So with basil and lemon in hand I marinade my chicken and cook some pasta!

Lemon Basil Chicken Carbonara
Serves 4

Prep Time: 2-4 hours (or overnight)
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total: 2-4 hours (marinade)


Ingredients
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
5-6 Basil leaves, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper

2 tsp olive oil
4 slices bacon sliced in small pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced

3 eggs beaten
1/2 cup half and half
1/3 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese
Rigatoni to serve 4

Directions
In a ziplock bag combine 2 chicken breasts, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and basil.



Refrigerate overnight or 2-4 hours.
Remove Chicken from Marinade, reserving 1/4 cup.


Get a frying pan over medium high heat and add a few tbsp of olive oil. When the oil is hot add your chicken to the pan and cook until one side is golden brown (about 3 minutes)...flip and cook another 3 minutes.

While chicken is cooking slice up bacon and mince garlic.

Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

Meanwhile, get a pot of water oven heat to boil then add pasta.
Toss bacon in the same pan and cook until crisp. Once crisp, drain all but 1 tbsp bacon drippings and add the reserved marinade and the garlic you chopped with the bacon. Simmer marinade with bacon until liquid is slightly reduced, about 2 minutes. Slice chicken breasts and add to pan with bacon to cook through.

In a measuring cup crack and beat three eggs. Add half a cup of half and half and stir. Add 1/2 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese and stir to combine with egg mixture.

Once pasta is cooked remove about 1 cup of pasta cooking liquid then drain the remaining water from the pasta. Quickly toss the pasta back in the pot and stir in the egg/cream/cheese mixture.

Stir quickly so the remaining heat in the pasta cooks the egg. If the mixture is too thick add a few tbsp of reserved pasta water until sauce reaches desired consistency.

Once pasta is coated toss in the chicken and bacon.

Dice a tomato and tear or slice up a few basil leaves and garnish each bowl of pasta (with extra cheese if desired). Serve!



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