Hot or Cold Chicken Pasta Salad Recipe

RECIPE

Ingredients:

1 Pound boneless skinless chicken breast

8 Ounces of rotini or other shaped pasta

1 Large broccoli crown

1 Celery stalk

3 Campari tomatoes (or one medium tomato)

1/4 Cup chopped red onion

1/4 Cup chopped sweet red pepper

1 Tablespoon capers

1/4 Cup sliced zucchini

3 Green onions

1/2 Jalapeno

1 Teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

1 Can artichoke hearts

4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 Teaspoon salt

1 Teaspoon dried Italian seasonings

Instructions:

Prepare the pasta according to the directions on the package. Rinse to cool and set aside.

Trim chicken and cut into cubes.

Prepare the vegetables that will be blanched and place in a bowl as follows: Quarter the zucchini lengthwise and cut into thin slices. Cut the celery stalk in half lengthwise and cut into small slices. Deseed and dice the jalapeno. Dice the red pepper. Mince the red onion. Cut the broccoli into florets.

Prepare the vegetables that will not be blanched and place in a bowl as follows: Slice the green onion into small segments. Slice the tomatoes in half, discard the seeds and pulp, then cut into small pieces. Trim the leaves from the artichoke heart quarters and discard. Keep the hearts.

To blanche the first bowl of vegetables: Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the vegetables and boil until the broccoli and zucchini just start to turn translucent at the surface.  Remove from heat, carefully pour into a strainer to get rid of the hot water, then rinse with cool water to stop the cooking process.

Next, preheat your skillet over medium heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and brown the chicken. Just as the chicken is done browning, add the garlic in crushed or minced form and saute for a minute. Then stir in the capers, artichokes, tomatoes, green onion, remaining olive oil, and salt and heat for a minute. Then stir in the blanched vegetables and pasta. Add the Italian seasonings and red pepper flakes to taste.

You can serve this dish hot or chill it in the refrigerator and have it cold.

Congratulations! You just made delicious Hot or Cold Chicken Pasta Salad. Please visit StepByStepChef.com for recipes and easy step by step video links for dozens of meals.