Easy Summer Pasta

During the Summer months, while I like being in the kitchen, I generally want to make foods that require less oven and stove time to keep the temperature in the house cooler. So for menus I focus on salads with only the protein being cooked, or easy and light pasta dishes.

This dish is a take on a dinner I had at Bravo! Italian Restaurant. What I liked most was the sauce wasn't heavy at all and they used fresh spinach allowing the heat of the pasta to "cook" the dark leafy greens. The other piece I loved was at the actual restaurant, they used multigrain pasta. One serving of the pasta contained 5g of dietary fiber (or 20% of your recommended daily intake). This is the type of pasta I would use at home so it was nice to see at a restaurant being offered on the menu.

Recipe serves 4

• 2 large boneless & skinless Chicken breasts
• 1 Shallot diced
• 3 cloves garlic, diced
• 3 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil divided
• 2 T Fresh Oregano stems removed and chopped
• splash of dry white wine
• 2 T butter
• 1/4 C Pine Nuts
• 1 lb whole grain pasta shape (like Penne or Rotini)
• 1/4 C julienne sun dried tomatoes (or oven roasted cherry tomatoes)
• 2 C Fresh baby spinach (I used some Frozen Green Beans instead)
• 1/4 C shredded Parmesan
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large stock pot with 2 T kosher salt. The salt will add to the natural flavor of the pasta as it cooks. Once the water has reached a boil, add the pasta giving it a good stir to ensure no sticking. Cook according to the packages instructions for an al dente texture. Since we didn't have spinach, we used frozen green beans.  I added them to the pasta when there were 4 minutes left in the cooking. Drain and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking prepare the chicken (We grilled with a lemon pepper rub). Pat dry with a paper towel and lightly salt and pepper both sides. Place a large skillet over medium heat with 2 T oil. Allow this to heat for a few minutes to come to temperature before adding chicken. (You could instead grill your chicken) Depending on the thickness of the breast, cook 4 to 6 minutes on each side, flipping only once. You want the chicken to develop a nice golden brown crust. Slice thinly and set aside.

In the same pan, add the remaining T of oil over medium heat.  Add the shallot and cook until translucent stirring frequently.  Add the Pine Nuts and allow them to get a little toasted.  Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute. Bring the temperature up to medium high and add a healthy splash of wine (once around the pan) along with the 2 T of butter. Deglaze the pan by scraping the brown bits leftover from the chicken with a wooden spoon or spatula. This will add a nice flavor to the sauce. Allow the sauce to reduce by half.

This may not look like much sauce, but you're going to toss the pasta and the chicken in the pan. So you don't need that much. Speaking of that... Add to the pan the sun dried tomatoes, the fresh oregano, (We also added some lemon zest), the sliced chicken, and the pasta. Stir until everything is nicely coated with the sauce. As this is a light sauce you don't need too much of it. The flavor will carry, just get all the noodles shiny. 


Use the largest pan you've got.  I felt I ran out of room once I added in all the noodles and chicken and beans.  While stirring I had a few penne jump ship.


Have a taste, then season with Kosher salt and Freshly Cracked pepper as needed. On the plates, put a healthy handful, about 1/2 C of the fresh baby spinach (didn't have spinach at the time). Put the steaming pasta on top and garnish with some shredded Parmesan. As you eat or stir on your plate the leaves will begin to wilt. This minimal cooking keeps most of the texture and all of the nutrients intact.


Enjoy!