Rosemary-Honey Chicken with Penne and Roasted Broccoli Sauce

While browsing the Web, I found this random site for mail-order meatballs, pasta, and sauce. I thought to myself… “Self, what about making a GREEN sauce for pasta? This seems like a good idea. Red is nice, white is nice, but what about a change?” After speaking thusly to myself, I got some broccoli and made this. I like the toasty flavor of the roasted veggies, but I have to admit that the sauce is more brown than green. If you want a vivid green color, steam the broccoli instead of roasting it.

Ingredients for sauce puree

2 heads of broccoli (this is forgiving—but I used medium to large size heads)

6 cloves of garlic

3 onions

14.5 oz can chicken broth

S+P to taste

Ingredients for chicken

Chicken thighs (I had 4, weighed about 2 pounds total)

1/2 orange

1-1/2T honey per chicken piece

1T rosemary per chicken piece

1 head of broccoli (small), separated into edible pieces.

1 onion, sliced

4 oz baby bella mushrooms, washed and sliced in half if large

Penne

1A. Prep the roasted veggies. Put foil on a baking sheet and lightly oil with a high-heat oil (I used a canola blend). The veggie prep is easier because everything (mostly) is getting pureed later. Smash and peel the garlic; leave whole. Peel and cut the onions into eighths. Separate the 2 heads of broccoli into larger florets than you would normally find comfortable to eat. Arrange on baking sheet, top with S+P, and roast in a 350-degree F oven for 40-50 minutes (or until it looks good and roasty to you).

1B. Prep the chicken. Rinse off the chicken pieces and arrange in a casserole dish over the sliced onion. Top each chicken piece with the honey and rosemary. Add mushrooms and broccoli to the dish. Cut the half-orange into pieces and squeeze over everything, then throw them on top. Pop into the same 350-degree F oven for about an hour.

2. After the stuff has been in the oven about 35 minutes, get a pot of water boiling for the penne. When it boils, add the penne and set a timer for about 10 minutes. When the pasta is done to your liking, drain it and mix a bit of oil in to keep the pasta from sticking together.

3. When the veggies hit 40-50 minutes, remove from the oven and pop them in your favorite blender or food processor. Tongs are very helpful for this process. Add in the chicken broth (about half the can worked for me) and process those veggies until they’re nice and smooth. Taste the sauce. What do you think? How is the texture? If you want the sauce to be thicker, pour it into a saucepan, mix a bit of flour into a small cup of hot water, and add to the sauce. Personally, I found the sauce to be fine without adding any thickeners.

4. When all is done, serve penne with the “green” sauce on top, next to a chicken thigh with the roasted veggies nearby. I suggest topping with parmesan…always nice. Looks good! Tastes awesome, too. Enjoy!