This week on Melissa’s Menu: lemon butter chicken pasta. It is the ultimate comfort food as midterms approach. (Photo courtesy of Delish.com)
This week’s recipe is the ultimate comfort food: lemon butter chicken pasta. Lemon and butter create the perfect savory flavor combination while the addition of garlic and onion makes it completely irresistible. Paired with chicken and pasta, it’s absolutely delicious. This is definitely a dish you’ll want to make.
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 12 oz. angel hair pasta
- 1/4 c. butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
- 1/3 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 4 lemons)
- 1 lemon, thinly sliced into half-moons
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- 3 c. baby spinach
- 1/4 c. parmesan
Directions:
In a large skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add chicken and season generously with salt and pepper. Cook until it’s no longer pink which should be about ten minutes per side. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook angel hair pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain, reserving one cup of the pasta water, and set aside.
Transfer chicken to a plate and add butter to the skillet. Let it melt, then add garlic and red onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, then add lemon juice, zest and slices. Stir in crushed red pepper flakes. Pour in 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water. Return the chicken to skillet, along with spinach. Gently toss until wilted, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the angel hair and toss until combined (you can also add more pasta water if desired). Top with grated parmesan.
This dish is incredibly easy to make and should only take a total of about 25 minutes. It’s the perfect pasta dish because it’s very light, so you can eat a lot and it won’t be overfilling. The lemon, butter, onions and garlic create the perfect balance of flavors that will satisfy all of your taste buds. This recipe is definitely one you’ll want to make again and again.
Melissa Scrivani is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at melissa.scrivani@uconn.edu.
