Lemony Herb Pasta with Chicken, Broccoli & Bacon

I clipped the original recipe for this dinner from a magazine years ago.  I can't even remember which one!  I've hung onto it for awhile but haven't ever made it - BIG mistake.

It's so YUMMY!

I decided to make a few adjustments to fit our family's tastes and the final result was perfect!

Creamy, lemony, slightly cheesy & bacon-y - everything a pasta dinner should be.

I hope you love it as much as we did.

Lemony Herb Pasta with Chicken, Broccoli & Bacon

Serves 6-8

 

4 slices bacon

2 cups chicken, cooked & cut into bite-size chunks

1 15-oz container part-skim ricotta cheese

5 Tblsp lemon juice

2 tsp lemon zest

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup chopped parsley (or 2 Tblsp dried parsley)

1 Tblsp olive oil

1/2 - 1 tsp salt (to your taste - start with 1/2 tsp & add more at the end, if needed)

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 pound (16 oz) penne pasta

1 pound broccoli, cut into 1 inch pieces

• Cook bacon until crispy, crumble & set aside.  Save leftover bacon grease in skillet (you'll heat up the cooked chicken in this skillet).
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
• In a small bowl, whisk together ricotta, lemon juice, lemon zest, Parmesan, parsley, olive oil, salt & pepper.  Set aside.
• Add penne to boiling water & cook for about 7 minutes or until tender.  Add broccoli to pot for the final 3 minutes of cooking time.
• While penne is cooking, heat the same skillet you used for the bacon to medium-medium high.  Add cooked, cubed chicken.  Stir to coat with bacon grease.  Leave in skillet until warmed thoroughly, stirring occasionally.
• When penne & broccoli are done, reserve 1 cup pasta water.  Set aside.
• Drain pasta/broccoli & place in large serving bowl.
• Add ricotta mixture to serving bowl with pasta/broccoli.  Stir well.
• Add heated chicken & crumbled bacon to serving bowl.  Stir well to combine.  Add reserved pasta water by 1/4 cupful if necessary (to increase the creaminess of the cheese mixture - you may not need any pasta water at all).
• Serve immediately.

We served this with garlic bread.

Enjoy!!

Kathryn