Seventeen Herb Chicken
Okay, it’s not 17 — it’s actually ‘Eight Herb Chicken’. It did however take me exactly 17 minutes to chop all of the herbs so that’s where the name comes from ((hahha)). It actually took me more time to chop all of the fresh herbs than to cook the chicken AND boil the pappardelle. But it’s worth it. I made enough for leftovers, but the kids scarfed every drop up – begging for more! What a great way to set them to eat some leafy greens, tiny, flavorful, herby leafy greens – but leafy greens non-the-less ((yay!!)).
The key to chopping all of these herbs is to pay attention to some important details:
• remove woody stems (for rosemary, oregano and thyme)
• line-up all of the chives & gently fold them in half 2 to 3 times, then finely chop
• stack all of the sweet basil leaves, tightly roll them & then finely chop
• the parsley stems are pretty fibrous too, pay attention to the spot where they begin to toughen up and discard that portion of the stem
Once chopped, your kitchen will smell glorious and you should have about 1 cup of green herby goodness. Chop the garlic next & toss it with the herbs to combine. And begin pressing both sides of seasoned chicken breasts into the garlic herb mixture.
I love this picture — all of the herbed chicken breasts getting ready for their date with the pan, it’s just so pretty!
Place the chicken breasts in the heated pan and cook through. Once cooked completely, remove the chicken from the pan & pour in a bottle of your favorite pasta sauce. Scrape up all of the bits of chopped herbs and garlic, add the chicken back to the pan and top with shredded mozzarella & parmesan. Turn off the heat, cover and let the cheeses melt and get bubbly.
Before I share the recipe, I have to share one important tip regarding the chicken. These chicken breasts were thick in the center and thinner on the edges. This leads to uneven cooking & ultimately can cause the chicken to be dry and tough. The solution? Pound the chicken to achieve a more uniform thickness.
- 8 - 8 oz chicken breasts, pounded to be uniform thickness
- 1/3 c curly parsley, finely chopped
- 1/3 c flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 1/4 c classic thyme (broader leafed thyme) finely chopped
- 2 T kitchen thyme (tiny leaves don't need chopped)
- 2 T rosemary, finely chopped
- 3 T chives, finely chopped
- 2 T sweet basil, leaves stacked, rolled & finely chopped
- 1-2 T oregano, finely chopped*
- 3-4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 T olive oil, divided
- sea salt & freshly ground pepper
- 1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce
- 1 c shredded mozzarella
- 4 T parmesan, freshly grated
- 1 bag of your favorite pasta, cooked according to package instructions
- Prepare chicken by lightly rubbing both sides with olive oil and seasoning with salt and pepper. Place herbs and garlic in a shallow dish, press both sides of each chicken breast into the garlic herb mixture.
- Place 2 t olive oil into a large skillet, preheat over medium high heat. Add chicken breasts to the pan, cook 4-5 minutes on each side (until done). While chicken is cooking, boil pasta according to package instructions. Remove chicken from pan, add pasta sauce & scrape up bits of herbs and garlic. Add chicken back to the pan, top with shredded cheese and cover with lid to melt.
- Serve chicken over pasta & topped with the herb infused sauce.
- * Oregano - I don't have much of this in my herb garden yet, so I didn't use as much as I would have liked.