Spiedie Chicken Penne
The Nitty Gritty:
An easy supper of marinated chicken, pasta and fresh veggies- Level: 1
- Prep Time: 45 minutes; up to 5 hours including marinade time
- Yields: 4-5 servings, with leftovers
- Tags: pasta chicken
If you ever find yourself in upstate New York, be sure to try the real deal – spiedies are unique to the Binghamton area. The cooking process involves marinating cubes of meat in a special marinade and grilling them on skewers over charcoal. They’re the best!
One thing to note: If you’re short on time, skip the marinade-making. One cup of Italian salad dressing is a great coating for the chicken.
Ingredients:
- 16 ounces penne pasta
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 whole lemon, (you'll just need the juice from it)
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 3 Tbsp. white vinegar
- 6 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- 1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
- 2 Tbsp. dried Italian seasoning
- 2 whole tomatoes, vine or plum
- 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 4 Tbsp. fresh basil, cut into thin strips
Instructions:
*Wash chicken breasts and pat dry with paper towels. Using a sharp knife, cut into bite-size cubes.
*Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl, then add the chicken cubes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 4 hours. (Don’t worry if you don’t have that much time – the chicken will pick up great flavor even with 15 minutes in the fridge.)
*Lightly salt a large pot of water and drop in the peeled garlic cloves. Once the water boils, cook the penne according to package directions.
*While the penne is cooking, heat up a frying pan on medium-high heat. Add the chicken and excess marinade when the pan is hot, cooking for about 5 minutes. You can tell if it’s done by cutting open a piece – the chicken should be white all the way through.
*When the penne is cooked, use tongs to remove the garlic cloves from the cooking water. Set the cloves aside on a cutting board.
*Drain the penne and return it to the (now empty) pot. Stir in butter, evenly coating the pasta.
*Dice the tomatoes and add them to the pot.
*Using a fork, mash the cooked garlic into a lovely mush and add it to the pasta as well, along with the cooked chicken pieces, the basil, and a couple of good shakes of freshly ground pepper. Mix gently and serve immediately.
Comments
By Alison L. McConnell
Alison L. McConnell is the HG’s editor and publisher. She also runs The Humble Gourmand’s catering and prepared food business, which serves as a conduit between Chesapeake Bay watershed farmers and butchers, artisan/small-batch producers up and down the East Coast, and hungry clients in the Washington area.
A native of New Jersey and upstate New York, Alison attended Bowdoin College in Maine and the London School of Economics before settling in Washington in 2004. She studied the culinary arts at L’Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, MD. She abides by a long-standing family motto: McConnells always finish their desserts.
About The Humble Gourmand
The Humble Gourmand is published the first Friday of each month, edited by Alison L. McConnell, a Washington, D.C.-based journalist and writer. It is designed to offer straightforward lessons and advice to aspiring cooks, oenophiles, and all other eaters and drinkers.
The Humble Gourmand encourages users to comment on any and all of its features, but reserves the right to remove any material deemed inappropriate.
joanne Stage
June 5 12:10 p.m. 1I tried to log in, nothing is happening
Alison
June 5 12:42 p.m. 2Hi Joanne, drop me a quick line at alison@humblegourmand.com
Ellen
June 23 7:08 p.m. 3Hi, Alison! You referenced Italian seasoning in the directions, but there is no quantity listed in the ingredients list. Thanks!
Alison
July 14 9:28 a.m. 4Ellen, sincerest apologies for my delayed response! It should be there now -- thanks for catching the glitch.
Brian
November 10 9:15 a.m. 5The gf is heading off to Europe for a couple months so I'm going to make this tonight for her last US meal..It looks great. I'll let you know how it turns out!
Brian
Alison
December 4 11:59 a.m. 6All right Brian, I want to know -- how did it go??