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Recipe of the Week - Healthy Garlic Chicken and Snow Peas
by Wen Zientek-Sico
This is a favorite dish both for entertaining and simple meals at home. It is easy, quick, healthy, attractive, and very, very tasty. Make it in less than 20 minutes for your next casual get-together or for dinner tonight.
Healthy Garlic Chicken and Snow Peas
This is a favorite dish both for entertaining and simple meals at home. It is easy, quick, healthy, attractive, and very, very tasty. The first time someone sees this recipe (usually after requesting it after they eat it) they ask me whether the amount of garlic is a typo. Nope, it isn't! I really want you to use ten (10) whole cloves of garlic in the dish. As the garlic boils it gets very soft and when you fry it afterwards most of it literally dissolves to form a very mellow and flavorful sauce. The dish is more flavorful than it is assertively garlicky. I usually have homemade chicken stock on hand, but I have made this recipe with canned chicken broth instead and it has been excellent. I prefer fresh angel hair pasta because the flavor is better and it takes less than 2 minutes to cook. If you are using dried pasta, start your water earlier and adjust your cooking times accordingly. You do not want to wait until adding the peas to cook the pasta if you are using dried pasta.
3 cups low fat chicken stock or broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
10 thinly sliced garlic cloves
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound chicken breasts or thighs, cut into serving sized pieces
1 tablespoon tarragon or other herb vinegar
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound washed and trimmed fresh or frozen snow peas
9 ounces fresh angel hair pasta
 Set a pot of salted water to boil for the pasta. Place the broth, wine, and garlic cloves in a medium heavy saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat and cook until the mixture is reduced to about 1 1/2 cups of liquid. While the stock mixture is reducing, heat a large, heavy nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the olive oil and the chicken breasts or thighs and quickly brown on both sides. Add the chicken stock mixture and cook over medium-high heat, making sure to use the liquid and a wooden spoon to remove any cooked bits from the pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook for about 4-5 minutes until the chicken is mostly cooked through and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Add the snow peas to the chicken dish and the angel hair to the boiling water. Cook for two minutes, stirring the chicken mixture frequently and adding a spoonful or two of the pasta water if the pan gets too dry. Drain the pasta and immediately place in four serving bowls. Top with the chicken mixture and serve hot.
Makes 4 servings.
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
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