Chef Nir’s Pasta With Braised Chicken, Roasted Asparagus, And Zucchini

Braised chicken quarters served with roasted asparagus, sautéed zucchini, and tricolor conchiglie pasta. Click here to watch the entire show!

Directions

For the Chicken

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Generously season the chicken with salt and pepper.

2. Heat an oven-proof pan on medium heat. Add oil. When the oil is hot place the chicken skin-side down and cook for four minutes. Turn over the chicken and cook one minute on the other side. Remove the chicken to a plate and reserve any juice from the chicken.

3. Dice the onion and place in the hot pan. Dice the carrot, celery and fennel and sauté with the onion. When the vegetables are soft, pour in about a half cup of wine to deglaze the pot. Add the garlic, basil leaves and bay leaf.

4. Place the chicken back into the pan with any juice on the plate that the chicken was resting. Add enough chicken stock to come about halfway up the chicken. (It’s important to keep the skin exposed so it gets nice and crispy.)

5. Bake uncovered for about 25–30 minutes. If you have an instant-read thermometer the chicken should have an internal temperature over 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Leave oven on.

6. Remove chicken from the pan and strain the braising liquid. Add the braising liquid to a saucepan and bring up to simmer. Taste for salt and add if needed. Allow to simmer so that it reduces by about half.

7. Add tomato paste and mix until smooth.

For the Roasted Asparagus

1. Remove the woody ends of the asparagus.

2. In a large bowl, add a few tablespoons of olive oil. Add the asparagus and season with salt and pepper. Toss until well coated. Place on a baking sheet and roast until just tender about 12 minutes.

For the Zucchini

1. Place a pan on the heat and add oil. When the oil is hot add the zucchini and sauté. Add the garlic and the herbs.

2. Season with salt and pepper and sauté until zucchini is getting soft but not mushy. Remove from heat and taste for salt. Add more if needed.

To Serve

1. Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions. When pasta is done, remove from heat and drain.

2. Cut the asparagus into small pieces. In a large bowl, combine asparagus, zucchini, pasta, and some of the sauce to the pasta mixture. Plate the pasta in individual bowls and top with braised chicken. Add more sauce as a garnish or to taste.

SKILL'IT

Skill’it is a thrilling and innovative kosher cooking competition, featuring four chefs battling to impress the judges and prove their skills by meeting a series of cooking challenges.

Recipe tags

Asparagus Chicken Chicken legs Chicken thighs Cooking competition Cooking contest Dark chicken Drumsticks Herzog Wine Cellars Italian food Kolev klein Kosher Italian food Noodles Pasta Skill it Skillit Tierra sur