Chicken Satay Broccoli Pasta

I love Singapore's classic chicken satay and I have been cooking chicken with broccoli for a while too. So I tried to mix both and after a few iterations I ended up with this recipe for a delicious and healthy plate of pasta. 

Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do! 

Preparation 25 minutes

Cooking 15 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 pound whole-wheat fusilli

300g chicken breast

2 heads (2 pounds) broccoli

1 yellow pepper

Garlic powder seasoning mix

Coarse salt & Black Pepper

For the satay/peanut sauce:

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter

3 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced crosswise (1/2 cup)

2 cherry tomatoes

1 tbsp Philadelphia cheese

Directions

STEP 1 - Put a large pot of salted water to the boil for your pasta. 

STEP 2 - Meanwhile, trim 1 inch from the stem end of broccoli stalks. Using a vegetable peeler or paring knife, peel outer layer of stalks; thinly slice crosswise. Separate florets into bite-size pieces. Slice the yellow pepper into thin strips and cut the strip in halves lengthwise.

Add the Fusili pasta to the boiling water. 

    

STEP 3 - Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium fire. Add pepper flakes, yellow bell pepper and 1/2 cup water, cover and cook. 

After 5 minutes, add broccoli and ½ more cup of water and cook until both vegetables are crisp-tender. Uncover and cook until liquid has evaporated and broccoli is tender, 2 to 4 minutes.

STEP 4 - Once the vegetables are ready, set them aside, and add a spoon of sunflower oil to the pan. Pan fry the chicken thoroughly and add the garlic powder seasoning. Stir in pan for a minute and remove from fire. 

STEP 5 - Drain your pasta when they are cooked al dente, according to package instructions (or your own judgement ;-). Set aside.                                          

STEP 6 - In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, peanut butter, and soy sauce until smooth. You should get a sort of caramel texture. Add to the cooled pasta, the cooked chicken and cooked broccoli/pepper; toss to combine. 

STEP 7 - Cut the cherry tomatoes in halves, set on top of pasta in a cross and drop a spoonful of Philadelphia cream cheese in the center. Sprinkle the plate with the cut scallion. 

Serve immediately, or refrigerate and serve chilled. 

Satay & Broccoli Fusili Pasta

Bon Appétit!