The Lush Chef

Libations used: 1/3 cup dry white wine...
Libations left over: Pretty much the whole bottle, so serve with dinner...
It's been so hot these past couple of weeks, so I really haven't felt like turning on the stove.  I was just craving pasta though, so I decided to suck it up and bust out the pots and pans for a little bit.  It's good to sweat it out every once in a while, right?  This Chicken, Black Olives & Lemon Spaghetti from Food52 was quick and relatively light.  Instead of turning on the oven and roasting a chicken, I cheated a little and bought one of those whole roasted chickens at the grocery store — it's a great way to speed up the prep for this dinner in no time, and make it a quick, weeknight meal.  I actually ended up using all of the chicken, a whole jar of black, pitted olives and tripled the amount of lemon zest and parsley.  I also upped the amount of liquid used for the broth, as I felt like 16 ounces of pasta called for a little more than the original recipe called for.  For the wine, I used Toasted Head Chardonnay, one of my go-to cheap whites.  Turning on the heat was worth it, as I downed this pasta in no time.

Chicken, Black Olives & Lemon Spaghetti - Serves 4-6
Ingredients:

• 5 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup dry white wine (I used Toasted Head Chardonnay)
• 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 to 3 Tbs defatted pan juices from roasting chicken (there was just enough in the container from the grocery store!)
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 lb spaghetti
• 1 jar pitted whole black olives
• 1 small whole roasted chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
• 3 tsps lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• 3 Tbs parsley, minced
• Parmesan cheese

- While your pasta pot full of salted water is heating up on the stove, place a sauté pan over medium heat.
- Add a couple glugs of olive oil and then add the garlic.
- Let the garlic gently cook until it just begins to turn golden (do not let it get browned).
- Add the red pepper flakes and stir.
- Add the white wine and let the alcohol burn off for a few seconds.
- Add the lemon juice, stock and pan juices.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, and season with salt and pepper, tasting to adjust the seasonings.
- Lower the heat to a simmer and let the mixture reduce by a third.
- Remove the pan from the heat if the sauce finishes before the pasta.  You can reheat before adding to the pasta.
- After the pasta is cooked, reserve about a cup of the pasta water before draining.
- Add the pasta back to the pot, and add the chicken, olives and lemon zest.
- Toss, and add some more salt and pepper, to taste.
- If the pasta is too dry, add some pasta water so there's a bit of broth.
- Add the parsley and toss some more.
- Garnish with plenty of Parmesan cheese.