Penne with chicken breast & broccoli sauce is a delicious one-plate meal ideal for your Sunday lunch even when you have some guests that like Italian recipes.
You will need: good-quality short pasta, chicken breast, frozen or fresh broccoli, cherry tomatoes, tomato paste and something to flavor your pasta dish that is anchovy fillets, capers in vinegar, white wine and aromatic herbs (chives, marjoram and bay leaves). Obviously you need good-quality extra virgin olive oil to have an healthy recipe.
Here's the recipe!

Prepare the basic ingredients for the sauce. Boil frozen broccoli in abundant salted water following the time on the package. Remove them, when cooked, with a skimming ladle and put them apart. Preserve the water in which you've cooked them.
Boil cherry tomatoes for 1 minute; in this way you can peel them easily. Remove them from the boiling water with a skimming ladle. Let them cool and peel.
Cut chicken breasts into thin strips.

Prepare the sauce. Put the olive oil and anchovies in a non-stick deep frying pan. Melt the anchovies in the olive oil over a very low heat, stirring frequently. Then add the chicken strips and let them brown for few minutes, stirring now and then. At this point pour in the wine and add the aromatic herbs (chives, marjoram and bay leaves), peeled cherry tomatoes, tomato paste and capers. Increase the heat, season to taste with salt and keep on cooking until the chicken is tender and wine is evaporated. Add hot water only if necessary.

Cook the pasta. Meanwhile cook the pasta al dente stage in the water where you've cooked your broccoli. Follow the instructions on the package or our directions to cook well Italian pasta.

The last step. Remove the pasta with a skimming ladle and transfer it into the pan with the chicken sauce. Stir very well and cook for a minute in order to flavor all the ingredients. Add broccoli only in the last moment, stir with delicacy and serve at once.

Note

• - You can also use fresh broccoli (400 g - 14 1/4oz). Cook broccoli until tender but according to your personal taste.
• - You can also purée cooked broccoli and add it to the chicken sauce in the last minutes of cooking. In this way you could camouflage them to those children who don't like vegetables. Besides you obtain a creamy sauce.
• - We often use whole wheat pasta or kamut pasta for this recipe as you can see in the photo but you can choose the short pasta you prefer.
• - You can also use canned cherry tomatoes with all its preserving juice. In this case cook the sauce on medium heat and reduce the amount of wine.
• - For an healthier recipe. Don't sauté the anchovy fillets in olive oil. On the contrary put the following ingredients together in the pan: chicken pieces, anchovy fillets, capers in vinegars, cherry tomatoes, tomato paste, wine and aromatic herbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper (if liked) and cook until the chicken is tender and the cooking juice is reduced. Once pasta is cooked transfer it to the pan and complete its cooking stirring with delicacy. Add the boiled broccoli at last moment, a few seconds before switching off the gas, and stir. Switch off the gas and add the olive oil. Stir. The olive oil will keep all its nutritive properties!
• - Do you like this pasta recipe idea? Prepare it for you Sunday lunch even when you have guests that like Italian recipes.

Healthy eating

• - Daily menu. This is a tasty one-plate meal. You can serve 2 to 3 people if they don't eat a lot. Complete your meal with seasonal fresh fruit.
  We remember pasta should be eaten preferably at lunch and the calories eaten at lunch should be 500 - 700 (30 - 35% of energy needs for an adult if his daily needs are about 2000 calories and he correctly divides his calories into 5 micro-meals).
  Here are the doses per head: 70 g (2 1/2oz) short pasta, 100 g (3 1/2oz) chicken breast, 100 to 150 g (3 1/2oz to 5 1/4oz) frozen broccoli, 150 g (5 1/4oz) cherry tomatoes, half a tablespoon tomato paste, 2 anchovy fillets, half a tablespoon capers in vinegar, 100 ml (3 1/2fl oz - 1/2C) white wine, aromatic herbs and one tablespoon olive oil.
  
• - Seated lunch with friends. In this case the doses are enough for more people. Be careful to combine this dish with other recipes for the richness of its ingredients. For a complete Italian menu you have only to start with some appetizers accompanying an aperitif, to serve this pasta dish and then assorted cheeses with special bread. Close the meal with fresh seasonal fruit and a cake.
• - As you can read in the nutrition facts this pasta dish is rich in protein. You should choose low-protein food to complete your daily plan such as a savory tart with vegetable ingredients or a soup.
• - If you want to drink a glass of wine remember you have to add 80-85 kCal per 100 ml.
• - If you want to know more about Italian pasta and its nutrition value read this page.
• - We remember you our original home recipes can be made without salt; there is a combination of flavours that substitutes salt. Other no salt recipes ...

What's the right wine for " Penne with chicken & broccoli " ?

Our suggestion is: Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi (white wine of Marche - Italy)