I love the taste of tarragon. I know some people don't care for it, but if you do, here's a recipe I adapted from a Cooking Light recipe. The original called for asparagus, but (gasp) I'm kinda tired of asparagus. Plus my wonderful husband likes "protein" in every meal, so I added some chicken. This is a great, light and light-tasting pasta salad, not oily at all. Here's what I did:
- Tarragon Pasta Salad with Prosciutto, Chicken, and Romano
- 8 ounces uncooked cavatappi pasta or elbow macaroni (I used rotini)
- 3 teaspoons olive oil, divided
- 3 ounces prosciutto, chopped
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots
- 1 cup diced tomato
- 2 chicken breasts
- 6 tablespoons light mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more for chicken
- Kosher salt
- 1 1/2 ounces pecorino Romano cheese, grated (about 1/3 cup packed)
- Preparation
- 1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water; drain.
- 2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil to pan, and swirl to coat. Add prosciutto, and cook for 6 minutes or until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove prosciutto from pan using a slotted spoon, leaving drippings in pan. Drain prosciutto on paper towels. Add the shallots to drippings in pan; cook over medium heat for 1 minute or until shallots are tender, stirring frequently.
- 3. Add remaining olive oil to skillet. Flatten chicken breasts to even thickness between two sheets of plastic wrap. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper and kosher salt. Cook chicken about 5 minutes or until browned; turn and cook on other side until brown. Chicken should be just barely done. Remove from pan, wrap in aluminum foil and let sit for 5 minutes. Remove from foil and chop.
- 4. Combine mayonnaise, lemon rind, tarragon, juice, pepper, and salt in a large bowl; stir well. Add pasta, prosciutto, shallots, tomato, chopped chicken, and cheese; toss well to coat.
