Ingredients
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Chicken marinade
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500g/ 1 lb. chicken thighscubed
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2 tbsp. Olive oil
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1 tsp. Kosher Salt
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1 tsp. Pepper
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For the Sauce
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2 tbsp. Olive oil
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1 medium Onionssliced thinly
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1 large zucchini
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2 cubed Tomatoes
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1 clove Garlic
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½ cup Red wine
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1 cup chicken stock
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400g/ 1lb. cooked short pastai used Conchiglie pasta
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1 tsp. Kosher Salt
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1 tsp. Pepper
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For the breadcrumbs
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300g/ 10oz stale bread
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2 tbsp. dry garlic powder
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1 tbsp. dry thyme
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1 tbsp. Olive oil
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For serving
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½ cup torn by hand parsley
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grated on top Parmesan cheese
Directions
I was struggling thru dinner the other night, thinking of stuff I had in my pantry, Pasta is the obvious for me, I always keep a few forms of it.
When I opened the fridge and my eyes laid over this homemade kalamata tapenade paste I made a week ago, there you go we have a great dinner.
The olive tapenade pasta is a fast dish, if you got an olive tapenade paste in your fridge, if not, you can make one in no time or just buy one of the good brands, personally I like the French Delices du Luberon brand but nothing beats the homemade tapenade paste, superior to all the store-bought brands by far.
Olive tapenade pasta sauce
There are two basic forms I tend to make this pasta, minimalist style, only tapenade and olive oil as the sauce, in this case the matching pasta is spaghetti.
The second version for the olive tapenade pasta is with a rich vegetable tapenade sauce, and chicken (not a must, but chicken and olives is a great match), in this case a short pasta works best since it can scoop up the sauce so you feel it with every bite.
This time I chose the vegetable version, vegetables like zucchini, onions, tomatoes are the base of my sauce, along with some garlic and the tapenade.
The tapenade is used to make a quick marinade for the chicken as well as another addition to the sauce to make the olive flavor stronger.
*** note that the tapenade marinade will be absorbed best in the chicken flavor if left for the night, if you don’t have the time or the patience, give it half an hour in the fridge
Making the garlic breadcrumbs
This pasta is great by itself, however it is nice to have a new texture in the dish, the crunchy feeling of the breadcrumbs does the job and really kicks in this dish to the next level.
For the bread crumbs use any stale bread you have in hand, I like the oven roasted version, it dries out all the fluids and humidity that the crumbs contain and give it its crispy texture.
Don’t use a food processor for the breadcrumbs, the old-fashioned way is the best when it comes to bread crumbs, uneven, with large pieces, don’t fight it, use whatever you get.
A note about the garlic bread crumbs, use dry seasoning I don’t like to use fresh garlic and thyme from the reason fresh garlic tends to burn and release bitter flavors, the garlic powder is so much better in this case and so does the dry thyme.
Steps
1
Done
30 minutes
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Marinading the chicken |
2
Done
20 minutes
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make the breadcrumbs |
3
Done
4 minutes
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Sear the chicken thighs |
4
Done
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Start the sauceIn the same pan, add the onion, zucchini and olive oil, cook for 5 minutes add the tomatoes and garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. |