Monday, May 26, 2008

Finally got it right!

So a couple years ago my mom sent us an instant pasta sauce packet from Japan called "Pepperoncino". I've looked up recipes and never found quite what I was looking for. Tonight, simply because it had few ingredients, I decided to make "Aglio E Olio" from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook and I think I have found my beloved "Pepperoncino" sauce! It's a light, garlicky sauce with just the right amount of bite to it. Anyway, I was so pleased that I had to share this with you. And along with it, I made a really yummy lemon chicken, which worked out perfectly as well. So tonight's dinner was a perfect success!

Aglio E Olio and Lemon Chicken
Serves 4

For the pasta:

6 T extra-virgin Olive Oil
12 garlic cloves, minced (4 T)
1 lb spaghetti
3 T minced fresh parsley
2 t fresh lemon juice
1/2 t lemon zest
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and Pepper
grated Parmesan cheese for serving
  1. Boil pasta to al dente. Reserve 1/2 C pasta water and set aside.
  2. Meanwhile, cook 3 T garlic and 3 T olive oil and 1/2 t salt in a medium sized skillet over low heat. Stir often and cook until garlic is light brown and sticky. (If the garlic turns a weird blus-ish color for a few minutes there, don't be afraid. It will still work!) This will take about 10-12 minutes.
  3. Place the pasta in a large bowl and toss with cooked garlic mixture, 2 T pasta water, parsely, lemon juice, lemon zest, red pepper flakes, remaining 1 T garlic, and remaining olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add more pasta water a little at a time to loosen the sauce as needed. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

For the chicken:

4 small chicken breasts, patted dry and trimmed of excess fat and tendons
1 lemon, sliced
2 T chicken broth
salt and pepper
2 t fresh lemon juice
2 T fresh parsley, minced
vegetable oil for the pan
  1. Heat a skillet to medium/medium-high with about 1 T vegetable oil. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and place on hot skillet. Cook one side until lightly browned and flip over. Add lemon slices to the pan and continue to cook. Once browned, add chicken broth and cover.
  2. Check the chicken periodically to make sure the chicken isn't burning, but just getting a nice dark crust on it. Once the lemon slices are dark brown and the chicken is completely cooked through, take off the pan and sprinkle with lemon juice and serve with minced parsley on top.

2 comments:

Lisa Allen said...

That looks awesome! Is it pretty spicy? It is so fun that you're blogging almost every day now.

Lillian said...

It isn't too spicy. I thought it had just the right amount of spice to it. I think you'll like it. But you might want to use less red pepper flakes for you kids, I dunno. After that experience with Chelsea licking my shirt because he ate something spicy ... she might want something not so spicy.