Chicken Carmine

There's this restaurant Gatto's in across the street from my high school that has, what they call "Chicken Carmine", which is this creamy, dreamy, lemony pasta with chicken, zucchini and tomatoes. I've been trying FOREVER to find a copycat recipe with no avail. So I made my own.

She was exactly what I wanted and the perfect main dish for our untraditional Friendsgiving meal. While the meal was coming together, no one could resist taking some pasta or chicken and dipping it in the sauce as a little preview of what was to come. Needless to say, everyone was a fan.

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Prep Time: 30 - 45 minutes

Servings: Approx. 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 box of pasta (I liked Cavatappi)

• 1 - 2 zucchini, depending on size

• 1.5 pounds of chicken breast, thinly cut or pounded

• 1 tablespoon of dried oregano

• 1 tablespoon of dried parsley

• 1 tablespoon of dried basil

• 1/2 tablespoons of dried thyme

• 1 tablespoon of paprika

• 2 tablespoons of butter

• 1 tablespoon of EVOO

• 2 shallots, diced

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• zest and juice of 1 lemon, split

• 1/2 tablespoon of crushed red pepper

• 2 tablespoons of flour

• 1 cup of chicken stock

• 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream

• 1/2 cups of Parmigiano Reggiano, shredded, plus some for topping

• 3 roma tomatoes, diced

• handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped

• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Cut zucchini into bite sized pieces and toss with about 1 tablespoon of salt, per zucchini. Set in colander for 30 mines to drain. This will ensure the zucchini does not get mushy or add too much moisture to your pasta sauce. Pat dry, season to taste and roast at 400°F for 20 - 25 minutes.

2. Season chicken with oregano, basil, parsley, thyme, paprika, salt and pepper and pan fry over medium high heat until cooked through, approximately 5 - 7 minutes per side. Remove chicken to rest.

3. In the same pan, add butter and EVOO to pan over medium heat. When the butter has melted add the shallots and garlic and sauté for 3 - 5 minutes until fragrant, scraping up any bits leftover from the chicken. Add lemon zest and red pepper and sauté for another 2 - 3 minutes.

4. Slowly sprinkle flour over and continuously whisk to cook out flour flavor and create a roux - approximately 5 minutes.

5. Slowly pour in chicken stock and lemon juice and whisk to combine. Once combined, reduce heat to medium low and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.

6. While simmering, cook pasta al dente and reserve about a 1/2 cup of pasta water right before the pasta is done cooking.

7. Additionally, in a separate pot or in the microwave warm the heavy cream to prevent curdling from the lemon juice. Once it JUST begins to simmer add to the sauce and mix. Stir in parmesan cheese until melted. Add in roasted zucchini, sliced chicken, cooked pasta, diced tomatoes, and parsley.

8. Add in pasta water little by little until you achieve your desired consistency.

9. Top with extra parmesan cheese, serve and enjoy!

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Tummy Friendly Substitutes

Note: These are in order of how the ingredients appear above.

• 1 box of pasta - (GF) Replace with your favorite gluten free pasta.

• 2 tablespoons of butter - (DF) Increase required EVOO by 2 tablespoons.

• 2 tablespoons of flour - (GF) Replace with 1:1 ratio of GF all-purpose flour blend or cassava flour

• 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream - (DF) Replace with a 1:1 ratio of unsweetened coconut milk or 1 1/2 - 2 cups of blended cauliflower.

• 1/2 cups of Parmigiano Reggiano, shredded, plus some for topping - (DF) Replace with 1:1 ratio of vegan parmesan cheese