Thursday, August 12, 2010

Weeknight Meals: Rosemary Chicken Breasts, w/Brown Butter & Balsamic Ravioli, Warm Spinach Salad w/Pancetta And Sweet Vinaigrette


I was on the fence about trying out this recipe on a weeknight because at first glance I was convinced that it would take me all night to complete. After seeing that it was a 30 minute recipe, I promptly hit the print button and took to my cupboard to make sure I had all the necessary ingredients.

If you have never had a recipe that utilizes the yummy, savory goodness that is brown butter, I suggest you try this one for starters! The recipe was simple, and delicious. If you have kids, they will [may] love the Sweet Vinaigrette Dressing on the Spinach Salad, if your man/woman was undecided about marriage, they may put a ring on it after finishing this dish. I'm usually not one for making "ooh-ahh" noises while I eat, but I had a few of those moments last night [don't judge me]. Yup, it was that good.

Rosemary Chicken Breasts, Brown Butter & Balsamic Ravioli, Warm Spinach Salad With Pancetta And Sweet Vinaigrette - Recipe Courtesy of Rachel Ray


Ingredients

Chicken:

  • 4 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breast, 6 to 8 ounces each
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, eyeball it, just enough to coat chicken lightly
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 stems rosemary, leaves stripped and chopped, about 2 tablespoons
  • Salt and coarse black pepper
  • 4 cloves garlic, cracked away from skin with a whack against the flat of your knife

Ravioli:

  • 1 package, 12 to 16 ounces, fresh ravioli, any flavor filling
  • 3 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2 handfuls grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, a couple of handfuls

Spinach

  • 6 slices pancetta, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
  • 1 small shallot, finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, eyeball it
  • 1 bunch, about 10 ounces flat-leaf spinach
  • Salt and pepper

Directions


Coat chicken in balsamic vinegar, then olive oil. Season chicken with rosemary, salt and pepper and let stand 10 minutes.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for ravioli. Salt water and drop ravioli in water. Cook 8 minutes or until raviolis expand, float to top of water, and are al dente.

Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken breasts and cracked garlic to the pan. Cook chicken 12 minutes, or until juices run clear, turning occasionally. The balsamic vinegar will produce a deep brown, sweet finish on the chicken as it cooks.

When the chicken is 2 or 3 minutes away from done, heat a second skillet over medium low to medium heat. To the second skillet, add butter to the pan and let it begin to brown.

Remove chicken from the first skillet and transfer to a warm platter. In a skillet over medium high heat and add the pancetta. Brown the pancetta bits, about 2 or 3 minutes, then transfer to paper towels to drain and return pan to heat, reducing heat to medium. Add oil and shallots to the pan and let the shallots saute 2 minutes.

When the butter for the ravioli has browned, add cooked ravioli to the pan and turn in butter to heat through. Add balsamic vinegar to the ravioli and cook a minute or 2 longer to reduce the vinegar and glaze the ravioli. The vinegar will become thick and syrup like. Add cheese, parsley, salt and pepper to the pasta and remove the pan from the heat.

To the sauteed shallots for the spinach salad, add sugar and cook sugar with shallots 1 minute. Add vinegar to the pan, scraping up pan drippings. Add spinach to the dressing and turn to wilt and coat it evenly in sweet vinaigrette. Add crisp pancetta to the salad.
Serve chicken along side ravioli and spinach salad, all on the same dinner plate.


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24 comments:

  1. I make balsamic chicken all the time but I add Oregano too! One of the best dishes ever. I will have try this spinach and ravioli too. Thanks!

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  2. I have to admit this is going to be the first recipe that I have confidence in tackling. Just from your steps alone I feel as though this is something I can achieve. As a beginner, I have a hard time trying anything that "looks" difficult, but what I love about this receipe is that the steps are pretty cut and dry, there isn't a lot of room for error(I hope!). I'll report back with my results..

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  3. But wait a minute!! You need to stop..This looks and sounds so delicious!! Man

    ~Shae
    http://afroniquelyyou.com

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  4. WOW!! This looks like a tasty dish...I am definitely going to attempt making this dish next week!! Thanks for the inspiration!!

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  5. That looks so delicious! I am definitely going to try out this recipe.

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  6. this looks complicated as all hell... but soo good. i'll give it a weekend try.

    missdeeplyrooted.blogspot.com

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  7. Normally I'm not a fan of Buitoni, but if you try their 4 cheese agnolotti with this I think it would be stellar!

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  8. This dish looks scrumptious. I'm trying it.

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  9. I need to start cooking again...but I know I'll never get this good lol

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  10. OMG. that looks soooo yummy! I might try this for Ramadan :)

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  11. Tried it! Loved it! Eating it right now!

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  12. MMM this looks yummy! I apologize if you mentioned this before (I'm pretty sure you did), but which website do you get your recipes from again? Do you cook everyday?

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  13. o my! i have to give this a try. it all looks so yummy! and i've never heard of brown butter but it sounds heavenly!

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  14. Yummy! I am cooking chicken breast tonight for dinner, so I will totally try this recipe.

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  15. Trying this tonight with the hun.... I'll report back with the results.

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  16. Follow up: Nam, Nam, Nam...it was delish!

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  17. Even though I bungled the ravioli and my plate looks nothing like the pic ( lots of brown sauce;which I happily sopped with my chicken:P), it was darn tasty. My fave is the spinach, which I added turkey bacon to instead of the pancetta.

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  18. This meal looks fantastic!! It has been added to my must-try list!!

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  19. Thank you everyone! And kudos to everyone who tried it! This is definitely a must try, it's tasty, and quick [30 minutes]!!

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  20. Just wanted to let you know I tried the dish and it was a hit with my fam. Although I had to eliminated the pancetta(no pork eaten in this household), it was still well received. the kids really enjoyed the pasta. The Balsamic vinegar put the extra ummph to the meal. This will definitely be put in my 300 out of 365 days chicken meals.lol..when do alternate with ground turkey and fish. Thanks for the insight!

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  21. I prepared this meal today, except I substituted steamed broccoli for the spinach. It was delicious, and not difficult to prepare. Actually, it was as straight-forward as it gets. Will definitely prepare this again. The best part? I have leftovers to enjoy!

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  22. I tried this recipe last night and all I can say is Wow! I'm not much on cooking, but I am a step above a novice and do have a few meals under my belt. I just want to know why anytime a meal says ready in 30 minutes, it takes me 2 hours! Regardless, it was worth the wait. Thanks for the recipe!

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  23. I just discovered your site yesterday and I want to thank you for all the wonderful recipes. What type of cookware do you use? I need to invest in a good cookware set.

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