| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 30 min |
| Prep: | 12 min |
| Cook: | 18 min |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 pound penne pasta
- 2 cups (9 ounces) blanched, slivered almonds
- 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 2 store-bought, rotisserie chicken breasts, skinned, boned and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
- 1 cup frozen petite peas
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 large lemon, zested
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups grated Parmesan
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.
- In a blender, combine the almonds, chicken stock, olive oil, and garlic. Blend until the mixture is smooth. Pour the mixture into a large skillet and turn the heat on to medium. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chicken, peas, cream and lemon zest. Cook, stirring frequently until the chicken is heated through, about 4 minutes (mixture will be thick). Season with salt and pepper, to taste
- Put the cooked pasta into a serving bowl and add 1/2 cup of the Parmesan. Toss together until the pasta is coated. Add the chicken mixture, the remaining cheese and the basil. Toss the ingredients together, adding the reserved pasta water, as needed, to loosen the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 1057 |
| Total Fat | 58 g |
| Saturated Fat | 19 g |
| Carbohydrates | 75 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 10 g |
| Sugar | 7 g |
| Protein | 61 g |
| Cholesterol | 141 mg |
| Sodium | 1019 mg |
Reviews
This worked great for me! I mean, I’m the type who likes experiments and as far as I’m concerned, this one was a success. The thing I did differently was in the end I stirred in the sauce together with the pasta, added a bit of white wine and let it cook for a bit. The peas went so well with everything else here.
I loved this! The only change I made was to use non-fat milk instead of the cream to save fat. Even with the change it was delicious. I left the almonds a little chunky for some crunch. Very satisfying meal for me.
A twist on alfredo. Just a teeny bit bland When i make this again I will:
1) add a pinch of red peppet flakes
2) add sauted onion to almond puree
3) Make Ina’s Lemon Chicken Breasts ( AWSOME) 1st then use left over ckicken in this dish instead of rotissary ckn
4 Maybe use part cream and part whole milk to cut a little fat out
5) Pulse,almonds very well 1st maybe w/some almond butter Or almond oil ( sooo good gor you)
Just FYI Almonds are conidered highly anti- inflamatory . Good food choice for arthritis suffers Eating almonds 5 x a week (of course w/out cream) cuts your risk of heart disease dramatically, according to srveral nutrition books.. good source of vitamine E too.
First if you watch the video again she said Broth but the can said Stock. I hate peas so I changed the recipe significantly. I added mushrooms and carmelized onions and got rid of the peas and lemon zest. I also substituted walnuts for almonds, added a dash of red pepper flakes and more garlic. I know it’s a totally different dish but it was great this way.
This penne with almond sauce was very good. When I make it, I add all the meat from the rotisserie chicken and some extra peas. The almonds don’t make this dish “gritty” like other reviewers have said, it adds some crunch. I use a nut chopper to cut the almonds which works great. The peas are delicious and “pop” when you eat them. The lemon adds fresh flavor and the cream sauce isn’t too heavy and rich. I make it often and it makes a lot!
I agree that it was gritty; maybe if the recipe had asked for the almonds to be chopped thoroughly before blending with the chicken broth. All I know is it cost a fortunate to make it. Chicken, almonds, good cheese made this about $26 for me to make–too expensive for a pasta dish that was gritty.
Good and easy.
This recipe was really good. BUT in order to make the sauce creamy, I strained it through a sieve. I used sliced almonds ( with the skin on), which left the sauce looking really gritty in the blender. So after straining, I continued following the recipe and it turned out great! This recipe is sort of like a lightened up version of fettuccine alfredo. I loved the tender chicken mixed into the pasta and I only needed one 3-lb rotisserie chicken.
I love Giada and so tried this recipe for a friend and I, I didn’t think it was all that good…I’m a texture person and this seemed gritty to me since the almonds don’t grind down all the way to a smooth sauce…I will try it again and see if I can get it smooth, maybe that’ll help?
Thanks Giada!
PS. She recently did a banana bread recipe …it’s to die for!
Thanks Giada!
PS. She recently did a banana bread recipe …it’s to die for!
This dish was good but nothing I would rave about…maybe I did something wrong in the recipe. My mom liked it though and she is a tough critic. Glad I gave it a try, but wouldn’t make it again.