Caramelized Chicken & Green Garlic Pasta – Recipe!

Never underestimate the brown bits on the bottom of a pan.  Those bits actually have a name and they’re called fond.  Fond is the thing in many dishes that brings flavor, and creates a most delicious pan sauce that can be utilized in so many ways.  To create a good fond, all you need is a stainless steel or iron skillet, some oil and some meat, like chicken.  During cooking, some of the chicken parts stick partially to the pan, and leave dark brown streaks i.e. fond.  Fond = flavor and you don’t ever want to rinse of eliminate this stuff from any recipe.

Sometimes during cooking you can get the fond a little too brown, but don’t let that scare you away from using it.  When you are sautéing meat, like chicken, you can always scrape the darker bits out with a spatula, but definitely don’t eliminate all of it, because you’re going to need it to create a mouthwatering sauce.

Green garlic is young garlic, and in fact most green garlic is what is picked by farmers to thin-out their garlic fields, so the bulbs can grow more evenly.  What’s great about green garlic is that it’s much more mild in flavor than a garlic clove, but it still brings a similar taste that most of us adore in a dish.  I have already seen some green garlic popping up at farmer’s markets and in farm boxes, so get yourself a bunch for this recipe.  If that’s impossible, you can use a clove of garlic, and still get great results.

This pasta dish is a one-pan wonder and can be made with just a handful of items.  The caramelized sauce enhanced with green garlic will surely delight your palate, and remind you of how simple cooking usually tastes best.  This meal is so easy, that you can definitely make it on the weekend, but most likely, you will make it again during the week, when time is a little tighter, and you’re craving some good food.

Ingredients

12 ounces dried pasta, spaghetti, thin spaghetti, or linguini

4 boneless skinless chicken thighs

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

5-6 green garlic stalks, or 1 clove garlic

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon butter

1 1/2 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

parsley leaves for garnish, optional

salt & pepper

oil for cooking

(Serves 3-4)

To Prepare:

1. Boil pasta for 9 minutes, drain and set aside.  Reserve 1 cup pasta water.
2. In a large stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon oil.  In a small bowl, combine onion powder, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.  Sprinkle chicken with spice mixture on both sides.  Place chicken in pan and sear on first side for 3-4 minutes.  Flip and repeat on other side, until deep golden brown.  Place in a bowl, reserve.
3. Slice green garlic or mince clove of garlic.  Add to pan and sauté over medium heat for 2 minutes, scraping up fond as you stir.  Add flour and butter, stir until melted.  Continue to cook for 1 minute, add 1/2 cup broth, stir until smooth, but thickened.  Add remaining broth and stir.
4. Dice seared chicken, and add into sauce.  Add cooked pasta and toss to coat noodles.  Add pasta water to loosen sauce, if necessary.
5. Spoon into bowls and top with parmesan and parsley, if desired.  Enjoy!