Without much success, I’ve been trying to reduce the amount of dairy and gluten in my diet. Really difficult to do while in quarantine and seeking comfort. Though delicious while consuming, I often feel sluggish and bloated afterwards.
BUT, I recently discovered the gluten-free pastas by Jovial Foods and was so excited to see that their pasta boxes have compostable windows! (Plus, their diced tomatoes come in BPA-free glass jars.) Now this is a company I can get behind.
Wondering what to do with my Jovial pasta, I came up with the recipe below, which is super easy to make vegetarian/vegan. While emptying the freezer, we found some frozen chicken and bacon that we purchased months ago. The version in the photos has crispy bacon (baked in the oven on a cookie sheet between parchment paper) and crispy chicken thighs (pan fried in avocado oil until golden brown on both sides). The vegetables I added were ones that had been in my fridge all week and needed to be eaten pronto. This is a great end-of-the-week dish to use whenever whatever in your fridge is near end-of-life.
Ingredients
1 package (12 oz) of Jovial Foods GF farfalle pasta
1 can of coconut milk
2 cups of frozen peas
2 cups of diced asparagus
2 cups of chopped broccolini
1 package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
6 strips of bacon
1 tablespoon of avocado oil
2 tablespoons of olive oil
4 tablespoons of dried onion granules
2 tablespoons of dried thyme
Salt, pepper, and chili flakes to taste (I used A LOT of freshly ground black pepper)
Instructions
Bake the bacon at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes or until crispy. Set aside to cool.
In a dutch oven, heat up the avocado oil on low-medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken thighs. Chicken thighs are hard to dry out, so don’t worry about over-cooking them. Leave them on one side to sizzle for about 8 minutes. When that side is crispy and caramelized, flip them onto the other side. When the chicken is crispy and cooked to your liking, set aside to cool.
In a separate pot, start cooking the pasta according to the instructions on the box.
In the dutch oven, leave the oil and chicken drippings on low-medium heat. Add the veggies and stir until the asparagus and broccolini are tender.
Add the can of coconut milk and the spices. Turn off the heat once the coconut milk has dissolved. The dish will continue to cook with the residual heat.
Drain the pasta and add it to the dutch oven.
Shred or dice the chicken thighs and bacon. Add them to the dutch oven.
Have a taste to see if additional spices are needed. My love for black pepper might differ from yours :)
Drizzle with olive oil before serving.
Enjoy with a cold glass of lemonade.
