Baked Skillet Pasta with Chicken, Artichokes, and Lemon
This stunning skillet casserole, with its bright lemon flavor and smattering of fresh herbs, is the very best way to get your summer pasta fix.
Serves4
Prep15 minutes
Cook20 minutes
This stunning skillet casserole, with its bright lemon flavor and smattering of fresh herbs, is the very best way to get your summer pasta fix. Despite its impressive appearance, it’s incredibly easy to make, and you only need a handful of ingredients to do so.
The secret to this dish’s intensely fresh flavor? Cooking thinly sliced lemon strips in a big splash of olive oil. As they cook, they transform into crispy little nuggets of joy, making this simple weeknight meal taste fancy. You’ll cook the jarred artichokes alongside them, infusing them with lemon flavor and creating an impromptu sauce to coat the noodles. Rounding out the dish with shredded rotisserie chicken is an easy way to pack in protein.
Cooking with Jarred Artichoke Hearts
Both artichokes packed in oil or water work well here. Oil-packed are more flavorful (but more expensive). If you use them, you don’t need to rinse as directed in the recipe — simply pat them lightly on a paper towel to remove excess oil. Water-packed artichokes need to be drained and rinsed, and you may also want to pat them dry to remove any excess water.
Baked Skillet Pasta with Chicken, Artichokes, and Lemon
This stunning skillet casserole, with its bright lemon flavor and smattering of fresh herbs, is the very best way to get your summer pasta fix.
Prep time 15 minutes
Cook time 20 minutes
Serves 4
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
Kosher salt
- 1 pound
dried penne or or other tube shaped pasta
- 1
medium lemon
- 1 (14-ounce) can
artichokes hearts packed in water
- 1/2 cup
fresh parsley leaves
- 3 tablespoons
olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups
shredded, cooked chicken (from 1/2 rotisserie chicken)
- 1 cup
crumbled feta cheese, preferably Bulgarian, divided
Instructions
Position a rack 6 inches from the broiler and heat the broiler. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add 1 pound dried penne pasta and cook until al dente, about 2 minutes less than the package instructions. Meanwhile, halve 1 medium lemon. Cut one half into 1/4-inch thick rounds, then cut each round into 1/4-inch strips. Set the remaining lemon half aside. Drain, rinse, and quarter 1 can artichoke hearts. Coarsely chop 1/2 cup parsley leaves.
Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the lemon slices and artichokes hearts, spreading them around the pan. Season with kosher salt and black pepper, and cook, stirring every minute or so, until the hearts and lemon rinds begin to brown in spots, about 5 minutes total.
Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta. Add the pasta and pasta water, 1 1/2 to 2 cups shredded, cooked chicken, and the juice of the remaining half lemon to the skillet. Stir to combine, then sprinkle with 3/4 cup of the feta cheese.
Broil until the artichokes are browned slightly and the cheese is melted, about 3 minutes. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup feta cheese and parsley.
Recipe Notes
Storage: Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 4 days.