CHICKEN FRANCESCA RECIPE - (4.6/5)

Chicken Francesca Recipe - (4.6/5) image

Provided by á-80166

Number Of Ingredients 22

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Ingredients

chicken marinade:
4-6 chicken breasts, sliced or pounded to 1/2″ thickness
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp balsamic vinegar (red wine or apple cider vinegars okay)
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
pasta and other stuff:
4 tbsp butter
1 tsp olive oil
1 medium shallot, chopped (I use onion instead)
2 cloves garlic, minced
10 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp dry white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp each salt and ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp black pepper
9 oz fettucine-style pasta: Cappello's, rice pasta, or zucchini pasta
6 oz bacon, pre-cooked, chopped coarsely
2 cups broccoli, pre-cooked cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup hard cheese (Romano, Parmesan, or a mix of the two), shredded or grated
1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped

Steps:

Slice or gently pound your chicken breast pieces to 1/2″ thickness. Combine with the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper, then marinate for at least two hours, but up to four hours. Heat the 1 tsp olive oil and 2 tbsp of butter in a large skillet on medium/high heat until shimmering, about two minutes. Add the chicken pieces and saute 3-4 minutes per side, until browned and cooked through. Cook the chicken in batches so as to not overcrowd the pan. As your pieces cook, the rest of the pan will start to brown and stick to the pan, that's fine! We're going to use that browned stuff to deglaze the pan and get some seriously delicious flavors for our sauce. Pay attention to the smell and color of the browned pan - if it starts to turn from "browned" to "burnt", adjust the heat. Also, feel free to add butter and olive oil to the pan if the chicken starts to get too dried out. For rice pasta or Cappello's pasta, cook the noodles according to their directions, then drain, and rinse in cold water. Drizzle with a little olive oil to keep the pasta from sticking together, and set aside. For zucchini noodles, just cut them using a spiral vegetable slicer and set aside - it will soften when you add it near the end. As the chicken finishes cooking, cover it in tin foil to help retain its heat. I like to put dishes that I want to keep warm in the microwave to further help keep heat from escaping. Turn your heat down to medium. Add the remaining 2 tbsp butter and the chopped shallot (onion), and sauté for about two minutes, until translucent and aromatic. Add the minced garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms, 1 tbsp white wine, and any juices that have accumulated from the bottom of your plate of cooked chicken. Sauté the mushrooms for about five minutes, until softened. As it cooks, use a wooden spoon to gently scrape up the browned stuff on the bottom of the skillet. If it dries out, add water to the mushrooms, one tbsp at a time. Stir in the cream, ground nutmeg, and remaining salt and pepper to the mushrooms, and bring to a simmer. Once the cream starts to simmer, add the remaining ingredients: pasta, bacon, broccoli, chopped parsley and chicken. Carefully toss your ingredients using some tongs, wait a few seconds, and stir in the cheese and continue to carefully toss everything until the cheese melts and thickens the sauce. Should only take a minute or two.