This chicken and pasta dish comes together in a jiffy. By tenderizing and pan searing the chicken breast, we get tender, juicy chicken. Fresh lemon and smoked paprika give the velvety smooth cream sauce just the right amount of heat and tang.
Prep Time3 minutesmins
Cook Time12 minutesmins
Total Time15 minutesmins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken, fusilli, gluten free, lemon, paprika, pasta
Servings: 4people
Calories: 489kcal
Author: Chef Sara Furcini
Ingredients
8ozfusilli noodles
1lemonzest into large stripsuse vegetable peeler or zester
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add a very large pinch of salt, along with the fusilli and large strip lemon zest. Simmer on high heat until al dente. Reserve 1/4 cup pasta water, then strain pasta.
Tenderize the chicken breast by lightly pounding both sides. Season generously with salt and pepper on both sides.
Heat a large pan over medium heat and melt the butter. Add the chicken breast and sear until crispy, 6 minutes each side. (Remove the chicken if you want the chicken to stay crispy before the next step).
Add the lemon zest, smoked paprika, and salt to the pan juices. Heat for 1 minute then add the lemon juice. Scrape any bits that may have stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Turn off the heat and add the heavy cream and reserved pasta water (1/4 cup). Stir and add the noodles, tossing to coat. You can add some heat to thicken the sauce a bit or thin it out by adding extra cream.
Notes
Smoked paprika is a really important ingredient in this dish because it adds a savory element that regular paprika lacks.Lemon Zest: Used in 2 ways in this recipe.
We place large strips of lemon peel in with the pasta water. This cooks away the bitterness and we get to experience the lemon peel as we eat the pasta.Use a peeler to get thin strips of zest.
Smaller lemon zest gets added to the cream sauce to brighten things up. I use a microplane to get the fine zest.When zesting a lemon, be sure to remove only the outer layer of the lemon peel. Do not use the pith as it has a bitter taste.