A YUMMY RECIPE TO GO WITH THAT NEW KITCHEN FLOOR FROM CINDERELLA CARPET ONE IN SALINAS!

If you’re thinking about getting new flooring in your kitchen you need to come to Cinderella Carpet One in Salinas or San Luis Obispo. And, after you have that new floor installed by our installation experts, you should know that pretty soon you’ll be looking for reasons to spend more time in your new kitchen. What better reason than to try out a new recipe? Here’s one of our favorites, courtesy of goddessofscrumptiousness

Spaghetti in Garlic Gravy with Herbs and Lemon Marinated Chicken and Cherry Tomatoes

This pasta recipe I came up spontaneously. And cooked this dish 30 minutes right after I conceptualized and imagined how the taste would be.

I just thought that lemon (juice and zest), thyme, rosemary, extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper to marinate and flavor the chicken chunks would already make the meat so delish. I had a tray of cherry tomatoes in the chiller and the sauce… I figured that it would be wonderful if I can taste some chickeny goodness in the pasta itself, so I decided that instead of making a proper pasta sauce I’ll make a gravy (make that as the sauce), flavor it with a tiny hint of basil and some big savory punch of garlic.

Ingredients:

500 grams spaghetti pasta (cooked al dente)

1 pound chicken breast fillets (skinless and boneless, sliced into 1 inch chunks)

For the chicken marinade:

2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped

2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped (if using dried, use half of the amount)

Zest of 1 lemon

Juice of ½ a lemon

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon coarse salt (not table salt)

½ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (to sauté the marinated chicken)

-  Add all the marinade ingredients into the chicken and marinate for 20 minutes (if making this dish in pronto) or over night (if making this dish the next day… much better).

-  Saute the marinated chicken in extra virgin olive oil until cooked (about 4-5 minutes) then set aside.

For the garlic gravy:

½ stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 large cloves garlic, finely minced

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 ½ cups chicken stock

1 Tablespoon fresh basil, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

¼ cup parsley, chopped (to sprinkle/finish the pasta)

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

2 cups whole cherry tomatoes

-  Place sauté pan over medium heat and add butter and olive oil.

-  Saute garlic until fragrant and soft.

-  Add the flour and cook for a minute.

-  Add chicken stock and simmer gravy until thickened then add the chopped basil.

-  Season with salt and pepper.

-  Add the sauteed chicken in the gravy then toss the cooked spaghetti into this sauce.

-  Add the cherry tomatoes and finish the dish with the chopped parsley and grated parmesan cheese (serve extra on the side).

Makes 5-6 servings.