Creamy Chicken Pasta with Zucchini and Lemon
Healthy baked chicken pasta recipe: Creamy cavatelli shells with lemon, zucchini and creamy goat cheese sauce. Ready in 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 3/4 pound (350 g) medium zucchini halved lengthwise and sliced into 2-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red chili
- 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) heavy cream
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove finely chopped
- Freshly grated zest from 1 lemon
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 4 ounces soft goat cheese
- 1/2 cup (50 g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 1/2 cups chicken breast chopped or shredded
- 12 ounces (350 g) dried cavatelli pasta
- Handful fresh basil torn into pieces.
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Toss the zucchini on a rimmed baking sheet with the olive oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt and the crushed chili. Roast 20 minutes, or until the zucchini is golden brown on the edges.
- Bring 4 or 5 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot and add 2 tablespoons salt. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.
- Put the cream, shallot, garlic and lemon zest in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat (watch that it doesn't boil over), then reduce the heat and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir the lemon juice, goat cheese, Parmesan.
- Drain the pasta and transfer to a serving bowl. Add the chicken, cream mixture and zucchini and mix together. Scatter the basil over the pasta and serve hot.
Notes
For a vegetarian dinner, just omit the chicken.
If you don't have cavatelli, shells or other small ridged pasta are other great pasta cuts you can use in this recipe.
Nutrition
Serving: 1gCalories: 598kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 25gFat: 35gSaturated Fat: 19gSodium: 278mgPotassium: 592mgFiber: 3gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 1473IUVitamin C: 21mgCalcium: 189mgIron: 2mg