- Prep10 mins
- Cook30 mins
- Serves3
- DifficultyEasy
I love this dish because it's fresh, zesty and rich all at once.
It's a classic pasta sauce of double cream, chicken stock and garlic, but thickened up with a generous handful of freshly grated parmesan and cut through with a touch of Dijon mustard and lemon zest.
The courgette adds a nice crunch, so take care not to overcook them.
I'll also add that I used to use OXO chicken stock cubes, but I've recently started using the Winiary Polish chicken stock cubes and I think they're so much better for providing the baseline chicken flavour and depth a dish like this needs.
I haven't specified a certain amount of salt because I believe in adding salt throughout the cooking process. When I fry the onions, I'll add some salt. When I fry the courgettes, I'll add some salt. The stock cubes contain salt. Just before the chicken, courgettes and pasta are added to the sauce, I recommend tasting the sauce and checking for seasoning - if it needs more salt or pepper, add it to taste.
The dish is finished with a handful of torn basil, a generous grating of fresh parmesan cheese and a sprinkling of freshly cracked black pepper.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
Method
-
Step 1
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in the pan and fry the chicken until browned and cooked through. Add salt and pepper to taste during the process to season. Once cooked, remove and set aside.
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Step 2
In the same pan used to cook the chicken, add a further drizzle of olive oil and fry the courgette half moons until browned. Remove and set aside.
-
Step 3
Add the chopped onion and fry for 3 - 4 minutes. Then add the chopped garlic and fry for a further 2 minutes. Take the opportunity to scrape the fond from the chicken off the base of the pan - the moisture from the onions helps the fond to come off.
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Step 4
Add the 100ml of chicken stock and deglaze the pan, making the effort to scrape all of the chicken goodness off the base of the pan.
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Step 5
Cook the pasta as per the packet instructions. I used fresh fusilli pasta which only takes 3 - 4 minutes in boiling water, so adjust your timings accordingly as to when you start cooking the pasta. You want the pasta to be ready at the same moment the sauce is ready to take the pasta. When the pasta is cooked, drain and set aside, and reserve 100ml of pasta water - you might need it to adjust the consistency of the sauce.
-
Step 6
Add the 1 tsp Dijon mustard, lemon zest, lemon juice and double cream, and stir to combine. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes.
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Step 7
Fold in the 60g grated parmesan cheese and stir to combine. You should notice the sauce emulsify and thicken to a rich and glossy consistency.
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Step 8
Continue cooking the sauce until it's thickened. If the sauce ever looks like it's getting too thick, thin it down with a splash of pasta water from the cooked pasta.
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Step 9
Add the cooked chicken, courgettes and fusilli pasta to the sauce and stir to combine. Cook for 1 - 2 minutes until heated through.
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Step 10
Add a handful of torn basil and stir to combine
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Step 11
Transfer to serving bowls and finish with a grating of fresh parmesan cheese, freshly cracked black pepper and a garnish of basil.
Serve and enjoy
Notes & tips
Take care not to overcook the courgette, it works great when it retains some crunch
Season and taste as you go - all stock cubes are different and each person's definition of salty varies
The first time I made this I used too much zest - a whole lemon's worth - this recipe addresses that by using half a lemon. Experiment and find your preference - you may want yours more or less zesty, and the amount of lemon zest controls it
Try to use a good parmesan - I'm quite the fan of Morrison's fresh deli counter Parmigiano Reggiano in the vacuum wrapped packet
As always - I love my Microplane grater - and I use it to finely grate the parmesan to add to the sauce. The extremely fine grate means the cheese quickly melts and blends in to the sauce.
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