I had pulled a boneless chicken breast out of the freezer for dinner but didn’t know what I wanted to cook. So I turned to several cookbooks, read several recipes and this is a mashup of a couple of them. The main driver is from (affiliate link) The Chicken Bible from America’s Test Kitchen but I have altered it very far from it’s beginnings. I found a recipe for pan fried chicken with garlic and I knew I had found dinner.

This was, with all seriousness, the best chicken I have made in a very long time. We were both surprised by how good it was. And it was really pretty easy to make. The hardest part was slicing the garlic.

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Speaking of the garlic, do not be put off by how much you need. It truly mellows as it cooks and it is not harsh or strong at all in the final dish. What you get is a really flavorful sauce that is just amazing.

If you cannot find dried tomatoes I am guessing that adding the ones in oil would work but I would dry them as best you can before adding them. I cannot speak as to how they would taste in the final dish as I used dehydrated tomatoes from our garden.

Pan Fried Chicken with Garlic and Dried Tomatoes on Penne

Serves 2 – 3

1 large, boneless chicken breast
1/4 cup sliced garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup plus 1 TBS all purpose flour
3 TBS olive oil, divided
3/4 cup dry, white wine
3 cups chicken broth
1 pound penne
1 TBS lemon juice
1/4 cup crushed, dried tomatoes
Dried/fresh parsley for serving if desired

Heat a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the penne as per package instructions. Reserve about 1 cup pasta water. Drain and set aside.
While the penne is cooking thinly slice the garlic cloves
Crush/chop the dried tomatoes into small pieces
Cut chicken breast into about 4 – 5 slices
Using the smooth side of a meat tenderizer, pound the chicken until it is thin.
On a dinner plate mix together the 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 tsp salt
Dredge the chicken slices in the flour. Set aside.

In a large saute pan over medium heat the oil. Pan fry the chicken pieces until lightly browned. Remove from the pan to the plate.

Add the garlic to the pan and stir to keep from burning.

Once the garlic just starts to brown stir in the flour and cook for about 1 minute.

stir in white wine, chicken broth and add dried tomatoes

Whisk in the white wine, followed by the chicken broth.
Add the lemon juice and stir to combine
Stir in the dried tomatoes. Let cook for about a minute until softened.
When the sauce is lightly thickened add the chicken pieces back into the pan to heat through.

Add in 3 cups of cooked penne.
If needed add some of the reserved pasta water to loosen up the sauce.
Sprinkle with fresh or dried parsley before serving

How Was the Panfried Chicken with Garlic and Dried Tomatoes on Penne?

The husband and I both agreed that this was one of the best chicken dinners either one of us had eaten in a very long time. The broth was delicious – very savory with that hint of lemon – and the chicken was super tender. The pasta held the sauce and it was, all in all, a delightful meal.