Cheesy Chicken Asparagus Pasta

Difficulty:  Easy-Medium

Prep Time:  20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes 

Servings: 6

Ingredients: 

2 tablespoons olive oil

16 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts/thighs, cut into chunks*

16 oz. asparagus (roughly one bunch), woody ends trimmed, remaining stalks cut into ~1" pieces

2 c. heavy cream

6 oz. gruyere, grated

3 oz. parmesan, grated

juice of 1 medium lemon

zest of 1 medium lemon

3 cloves garlic, minced

1.5 sticks (12 oz.) cold, unsalted butter, cut into ~1" pieces

16 oz. uncooked pasta (we used farfalle, you can use whatever type you'd like)

mouf poultry seasoning 

Prior to cooking, place pot of pasta water on stove to boil.

Season raw chicken thoroughly with mouf fowl seasoning. In skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat and saute chicken until cooked through, ~7-8 minutes, turning regularly. Note: ideal doneness is reached when spatula can easily cut through chicken.  

 After chicken is finished cooking, add asparagus and minced garlic to pan, sauteing on low for ~2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. 

By this point the pot of water for your pasta should be boiling. Cook pasta per the instructions on the package and drain. If you're decent at multi-tasking in the kitchen, you can definitely cook your pasta while simultaneously making your sauce, just set a timer or something so you don't overcook it. 

In a large saucepan, heat heavy cream on high then, once it begins to bubble, reduce heat to medium and add lemon juice**, stirring until smooth. Gradually add cold pats of butter to sauce, continuing to stir until fully incorporated. 

Once butter is evenly distributed in sauce, add lemon zest and grated cheeses, ~1 cup at a time, stirring until sauce is velvety and uniform in texture. Add cooked chicken and asparagus to decadently-rich sauce, turning to coat evenly.  Don't be afraid of tasting it and adding more mouf fowl seasoning as needed!

Add drained pasta to sauce/chicken/asparagus party and serve promptly, garnishing with parsley if desired.  Brace yourselves for compliments and praise.

* Always wash your hands after handling raw poultry!

*Note:  the lemon juice provides both flavor and thickness to your sauce as, upon mixing with the cream, it kickstarts a chemical reaction that results in components in the cream bonding with one another.  DO NOT FREAK OUT if it looks gross for a second, just continue stirring until everything is smooth and fully mixed in.