Today I am so excited to share the recipe for our Valentine's Day meal with you! I shared in this post last week that my alfredo was pretty much a non-negotiable for Bryce and that I also was hoping to somehow incorporate fennel and prosciutto into the meal. I put my thinking cap on and came up with a meal that met both of our needs: Chicken Alfredo w/Braised Fennel, Asparagus, & Prosciutto.
Ingredients
For the alfredo (adapted from this recipe):
4 servings of angel hair pasta (this is our favorite and I love this tool to cook it)
1 and a half cups of heavy cream
2 cloves minced garlic
5 tbs unsalted butter
1 and a half cups grated parmesan
salt and pepper
4 tbs chopped, fresh parsley
For the braised fennel:
2 large fennel bulbs
3 tbs salted butter
3 tbs olive oil
6 oz white wine (we used a mini bottle of dry Chardonnay)
For the other additions:
2 chicken breasts or 3 chicken thighs (your preference)
1/4 pound of prosciutto, sliced medium
1 bunch of asparagus tips (~50 tips)
olive oil
minced garlic
salt and pepper
Directions
For the alfredo:
-Warm cream and garlic in a large saucepan over medium-low heat, until steaming.
-Chop butter into 5 tablespoon-sized slices and whisk into cream sauce until melted.
-Add in parmesan, salt, pepper, and parsley.
-Increase heat to medium and simmer approximately 10 minutes, until reduced to 1 cup.
-In the meantime, cook pasta to your liking (I am personally not a fan of al dente, so I cook a little bit past that. If you opt for the angel hair we use, it cooks very fast! Usually only takes about 5 min!)
-Combine angel hair and sauce
For the braised fennel:
-Cut green stalks off of the fennel bulbs and slice them, leaving the tough core. Chop to desired size.
-Melt butter in pan and immediately add chopped fennel.
-Drizzle with olive oil and stir.
-Braise on medium heat for about 5 min, until fennel develops a caramelized appearance and becomes slightly translucent.
-Stir often to avoid burning. If fennel starts getting brown or black on the edges, reduce heat.
-Add wine and cover (Bryce cracked the lid) and cook on low-medium heat for about 5 minutes.
-Uncover and cook for about 5 more minutes to reduce wine. (It will thicken a bit and make a tasty sauce to dip bread in).
-Optional: add a hard cheese like grated parmesan right at end. This can be served on its own as a side or appetizer, however, we did not do this, because it was going into the alfredo).
For the additions:
-Marinade chicken with olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper
-Grill chicken and chop into slices
-Cover with foil and set aside
-Marinade asparagus with olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper
-Sautee in pan, until slightly browned and crunchy, approximately 10 minutes (I love this skinny grill for sauteing)
-Slice prosciutto into small pieces
Add chicken, asparagus, fennel and prosciutto to angel hair alfredo and stir.
Enjoy!
Have you ever cooked with fennel?
What are your favorite romantic recipes?
Have a great day!