Fusilli with Chicken and Veggies
Need a quick pasta dish that’s delicious and nutritious and where the veggies provide the flavour so no additional sauces are necessary? This fusilli chicken and veggies is a go-to for me! I use broccoli and zucchini, a couple of green onions and 1/3 cup of radish (optional – add what ever other dense veggie you might have in your fridge instead – carrot, green beans, celery, kohlrabi…). It cooks up quickly – in the time your pasta water gets boiling and the pasta cooks, the rest is done too and it’s on the table! I don’t add parmesan to this pasta dish – you can, of course, or for extra nutritional benefits, sprinkle some nutritional yeast on instead!
As this pasta isn’t swimming in sauce, leftovers are great to take along for lunch the next day and is good cold from the fridge or warmed up.
As always, when you make this recipe, please post a photo of your Fusilli with Chicken and Veggies goodness and tag my IG account #RenataCollective or leave a comment with your thoughts!
Prep Time: 10 minutes / Cook Time: 20 minutes / Serves: 2
Ingredients
3 Garlic Cloves - sliced
1½ Cup Fusilli Noodles (I use gluten free pasta but conventional pasta works great as well.)
1½ Tablespoon Olive Oil
3 Small Chicken Breasts – boneless, skinless – sliced fine or cut into 1” cubes
1½ Cups Broccoli – cut into florets
1 Large Zucchini – sliced
2 Green Onions – sliced
1/3 Cup Radish – sliced (optional)
¼ Cup Water
A few grinds of Fresh Pepper and a pinch of Herbamare or Sea Salt (optional)
How It’s Made
Slice the garlic and set aside to form its nutritional magic.
In a medium sized pot, get salted water boiling and cook the fusilli pasta. When done, drain the pasta well, keeping a ½ cup of pasta water.
While the pasta water is heating up and the pasta cooks, in a large frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil and add the chicken. Sauté until the chicken is well browned and cooked through – about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the cooked chicken to a bowl and set aside.
To the hot pan, add the remaining ½ tablespoon of oil. When hot add in the garlic, green onion and sauté for a minute until they are softened and the garlic is fragrant.
Add the broccoli, the zucchini and the radish (or another dense veggie of your choice) and sauté. Add a ¼ water to steam the veggies and help them cook. In this recipe I like them to be softened and not tender crisp (as you would want them in a stir-fry).
Add the chicken back to the pan.
If the pan is dry again, add ¼ cup of the pasta water and gently stir to mix everything together. You want some liquid in the pan – the sauce that has been created by the veggies and small amount of pasta water.
Season with a few grinds of pepper and a pinch of Herbamare or sea salt.
To serve, scoop pasta onto each plate or bowl, top with the chicken and veggies. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast if desired.
Enjoy!
