Chicken and asparagus pasta

This recipe is long overdue. I kept on forgetting to sit down and write the recipe from my notes consisting of: breast fillet slice, asparagus stir-fried, pine nuts, basil. I don't know about you, but that right there is my recipe note, and I can very well recreate my dish from there, at least for about a week. After that, I'd be just like you, wondering what lunatic can make recipe notes in gibberish.

I always liked chicken paired with asparagus. Asparagus, from my side of the world, doesn't come cheap, so it's more of a treat to myself whenever I grab a bundle from the supermarket. That particular day, I felt like splurging, and grabbed a bundle. I was left with nary an idea what to do with it but the thought of chicken breast fillet sitting in the ref brought comfort. A quick check in the pantry, and these are the ingredients I gathered:

• 500 grams pasta, cooked according to packet directions
• Olive oil
• EVOO for drizzling
• Half head of garlic, sliced
• A bundle of asparagus (about 4" in diameter), sliced
  
• 2 chicken breast fillet, sliced as desired
• Mushrooms, sliced (totally optional)
  
• A handful of fresh basil leaves
• 1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted
• Salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Cook pasta. Drain and set aside. Save 1/2 cup pasta water.
2. While the pasta is cooking, prep the rest of the ingredients:

• Slice the asparagus in bite-size pieces. Discard the bottom hard part of the stalk.
• Peel and thinly slice the garlic.
• Slice chicken breast in bite-size pieces.
• Toast pine nuts in oil-free hard-bottomed pan until brown on sides.

3. In a pan, heat 3 tbsp olive oil and stir-fry asparagus until done. Drizzle with a dash of salt, and set aside.
4. In a bigger pan, heat 2 tbsp olive oil.
5. Saute garlic until fragrant.
6. Add chicken breast and mushrooms and cook until done.
7. Add basil leaves and pour pasta water when wilted.
8. Bring to a light boil.
9. Season with salt and pepper.
10. Still on stovetop, add pasta and toss well until well-coated.
11. Serve with toasted pine nuts and EVOO drizzle.

Pine nuts, as with everything else, in my side of the world, is priced like gold. I am lucky I have a sister who indulges me in every balikbayan boxes she sends. If you don't have pine, you can substitute with cashew or peanuts. Just use the toasted one or toast them yourself.

This pasta gave me the longed satisfaction of a chicken and asparagus combo with a touch of heavenly flavor of basil. I did not add cheese because pine nuts are creamy as they are.

Next recipe to be featured soon will be from my Perfect Chicken Roast notes: 400F 25 min tent breast down, 25 min tent breast up; 350F 10 min no tent breast down, 10 min no tent breast up.

If you can figure that out, go make it. If your chicken was anything far from perfect, you did not get it. ;-)


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