This recipe is from the Guardian Feast magazine page 7 issue 165, Saturday 13th March 2021 alternatively the original recipe can be accessed online here. The flavour of this dish was very tasty and nothing like any of us had had before. My mum asked for the recipe and thinks that she will do it again as she really enjoyed the sauce. Also, it would be nice to serve this with some crusty bread or a side salad as well, I just wilted some spinach into mine after taking the picture. Personally, I think the choice to use salted butter really added to the overall flavour, adding an extra level of saltiness but not too much, just enough to balance everything out. The spaghetti and sauce can be easily adapted to use in other recipes e.g. with meatballs or Kiev's or whatever else you usually serve pasta with. Similarly, the chicken and marinade would be nice in other dishes too, or as a side to something like rice or in a sandwich or wrap or pitta. Finally, all of this can be made in advance and just warmed through to serve if you wish. Enjoy!
Dietary Info:
-Unsuitable for Vegans/Vegetarians {You can use a plant based alternative to chicken such as tofu, tempeh or seitan, pulses e.g chickpeas and lentils (fry these in advance or roast), plant burgers/sausages (you can grill these like chicken), Quorn products, you could even use veg like squash and aubergine or cauliflower steaks, or serve the spaghetti with some vegan bread, if you prefer. In place of the butter, there are lots of Vegan alternatives available such as: Flora, but if you have a preferred brand use that.}
-Contains Dairy
-No Nuts
-Contains Gluten {There are lots of G-F alternatives to wheat pasta, so you could use chickpea pasta in place of spaghetti, it obviously doesn't have to be spaghetti shape, any shape would work}
-Main Meal
Prep: 20 min
Marinate: 2 hr+
Cook: 40 min
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
-2 large free-range chicken breasts
-1tbsp thyme leaves {I used dried thyme}
-2 garlic cloves, peeled {I used 3 garlic cloves because we enjoy a more garlic-y flavour in our house}
-1 lemon, peel cut away in strips, then half juiced and the rest cut into wedges
-2tbsp olive oil
-300g spaghetti {I used around 200-220g of spaghetti for 4, but if you prefer more use the full amount, any leftovers will be nice with meatballs or pesto}
-150g butter, cut into cubes {I used salted butter}
-18 sage leaves {I used about tbsp of dried mixed herbs}
-3tbsp baby capers
To serve:
-Freshly grated parmesan {We used cheddar because my sister doesn't like Parmesan}
-Roughly chopped parsley
Method:
1:Halve the chicken breasts by putting the palm of your hand on top, slicing horizontally into the meat and opening it out like a book. Put the chicken between two pieces of greaseproof paper, gently bash until about ½cm thick, then transfer to a bowl. {I just bashed it with my hands but you could use a rolling pin if you wish} Roughly chop the thyme and garlic, then rub into the chicken. Add the lemon peel and olive oil, and leave to marinate in the fridge, ideally for a few hours. {I left mine to marinate all day, so I prepared in the morning and then at tea time took it from the fridge and cooked it. This would also work if you marinated overnight}
2:When you are ready to eat, cook the pasta in a pan of salted boiling water {I didn't use salted water because I was adding salted butter to the pasta and I thought it might have been a bit too salty} until it still has a chalky bite, a touch before al dente. Drain, reserving a cup of the cooking water, {I forgot to do this, so when I needed to add pasta water, I boiled some water, added a pinch of flour to it and added that. This is because the pasta releases starch as it cooks, which helps bring everything together, so if I just added a source of starch to some water, it does the same job} then rinse the pasta under cold water for a minute to stop it sticking together. {I dished up one portion of spaghetti, before putting it under cold water because my sister didn't want the butter sauce, so in order to keep it warm, it was best not to put it under the tap. Instead, I covered her plate with some tin foil}
3:Now make the brown butter. Melt the butter in a small, preferably light-coloured pan {Mine was matt black so don't worry too much, it is just so you can see the colour of the butter better} over a medium heat and simmer, swirling the pan occasionally, for five to eight minutes, or until starting to turn golden and frothy. Keep swirling the pan for a few minutes more, until you can see the solids turning a deep caramel colour. Quickly add the lemon juice, sage and capers, stir and take off the heat. {This could be made in advance and kept at room temperature if you wished}
4:Heat a griddle pan or oven grill {I used an oven grill} and, once properly hot, shake the marinade from the chicken and lightly season the meat. {Make sure to keep the marinade as I didn't read far enough ahead and threw it away} Grill for one to two minutes on each side until char marks appear, then transfer to a warmed plate and cover loosely with foil or another plate. {Before serving, make sure to check if the chicken's cooked all the way through, the centre should be white, mine took more like 3-4mins per side and then instead of leaving on a warm plate, I turned off the grill and left them in the hot oven, obviously, this is not possible if you used a griddle}
5:Put the pasta pan back on a medium-high heat, and pour in the brown butter and marinade. Simmer for a few minutes to cook the garlic, then add the pasta with half the reserved pasta water. Simmer for three to four minutes more, tossing, until the pasta has absorbed the butter and the sauce is lovely and glossy (add more water if it looks dry and cook for a minute more). Check the seasoning, then serve in warm bowls with the chicken on top and lots of parmesan, parsley and the lemon wedges.
While you're here, I have a Pinterest for all my recipes where you can save them to boards for the future and categorise them into different types of recipe e.g Sunday Dinners, picnic ideas etc. My account is @hazellikestocook, or find the link below. Also, I have a whole blog post explaining this in more detail here and https://hazelscookingandbakingblog.blogspot.com/2021/02/pinterest.html.
https://pin.it/5xDvARk - my profile
This recipe: https://pin.it/1ZFXQ9G
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