Penne With Chicken and Roasted Asparagus

Barb Gertz's Note:

What could be more delicious than pasta , chicken and roasted asparagus, also very healthy and easy to make. The recipe comes courtesy of Mike Miller and the Home for Dinner catering service and KCRA TV.

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 lb asparagus
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 4 -5 sprigs rosemary
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 1 lb penne pasta
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (plus more for serving)

Directions:

1. Put vinegar into a small saucepan and simmer until reduced to 3 tablespoons.
2. Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; set aside.
3. (Mixture will be thick like syrup).
4. Meanwhile, snap tough ends off the asparagus and discard.
5. Cut spears into 1-inch pieces.
6. Put asparagus on baking sheet with sprigs of rosemary and toss with olive oil,1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
7. Roast in 400°F oven until tender, approximately 10 minutes.
8. Melt 1/2 tablespoon butter with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in medium saute pan over medium-high heat.
9. Add chicken and saute until cooked through.
10. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until just done.
11. Drain pasta and immediately toss with the butter, (cut butter into pieces first) vinegar-sugar mixture, asparagus, chicken, parmesan cheese and remaining 1 teaspoon of salt.
12. Serve with additional parmesan cheese.

Reviews

[DDW]

Terrific!!! We can't wait to have this dish again. My changes were: only 1/2 lb pasta, 12oz of chicken breast, and 1/4 cup or so of butter. I wasn't sure on the balsamic vinegar with the 1/2 cup and 2T measurements, so I reduced the 1/2 cup and then put the 2T on the dish in the final mixing. The fresh rosemary cooking with the asparagus left the most awesome flavor. We will make this a lot during peak asparagus season. My 8 year olds both gave this a 5 star rating. Thanks for sharing Barb!

[Marsha Mazz]

I made this using bow ties inseead of penne - it was wonderful. Also I added fresh tomatoes (skinned and chopped) and basil. The balsamic reduction was a little tricky. Maybe i overcooked it. But, after I removed it from the stove and added the brown sugar, it got quite hard. So, I added a little warm water and heated it a bit sirring constantly and it was just fine. I really enjoyed this easy to make dish. Thanks for posting.

[riflchik]

Good recipe, pretty easy to make too!! My baby even liked it! A bit sweet for my taste, which is the only reason it got 4 instead of 5.