I know, I know people are telling me to update my blog! Give me a break people I am busy just like all of you. I have now moved from one job to two and can barely keep track of myself.
I also have barely enough time for cooking new dishes, which leaves time for WRITING about them even more scarce!
A few weeks ago, Ben and I went out of town for the whole weekend, which means no grocery shopping. On the Tuesday after I got back I finally had a chance to make it to the grocery store to grab a few things. One of them was a rotisserie chicken. While a rotisserie chicken is an easy meal, I thought it would be good in a pasta instead of just making a couple of sides with it.
When I got home I looked in my fridge and I saw a bunch of vegetables on the verge of going bad with 1-2 days left max. I really try not to waste produce, I know what to buy for the two of us and I use it. Also, since it’s spring my herbs are really growing like crazy and this was the perfect opportunity to use them. While I have a list of vegetables I used in my pasta, feel free to substitute anything you have on hand. Nothing needs to be chopped finely since it is Rustic! So have fun and experiment!
What you’ll need
- Handful of fresh broccoli
- 1 zucchini chopped in chucks
- Handful of grape tomatoes
- Handful of chopped onions
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and chopped
- 3 cloves garlic skins removed
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 lemon
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup mixture of fresh herbs chopped (I used basil, oregano, thyme, and rosemary)
- 1/2 lb pasta (whatever you have on hand but a rotini would be nice)
- 1/3 a rotisserie chicken (dark and white meat as desired) chopped into pieces
- about 1/4 cup pasta water
- 1/2 cup parmigiana or Romano cheese (or a mixture of both, which is what I used)
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Throw all the vegetables (including garlic) on a baking dish and drizzle olive oil on top, squeeze the juice of one lemon, add the chopped herbs, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and mix everything together with CLEAN hands. Don’t be afraid to get them dirty; you can always wash them.
Stick the vegetable mixture in oven for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, boil the pasta according to package directions and drain, saving about 1/4 (or a ladle full) to add to the pasta mixture. Also, tear apart the chicken pieces and set them to the side.
When the vegetables are done, combine them with the pasta, chicken, and pasta water, then mix together. Add the cheese and it’s ready to serve.
While this meal does take about 45 minutes to prepare, most of it is spent watching the television while the vegetables roast. Also, what I love about this is that it’s basically things we all have on hand anyway. I think some roasted pine nuts added would have been fantastic also, but I just didn’t have them.
So, next time you are at the grocery store trying to pick up a quick dinner, or you have some left over roasted chicken, give this recipe a try!
Happy eating!
