2 small bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts or 1 large (a total of about 1½ pounds chicken)
3 cups broccoli torn into pieces (however big or small you'd like)
½ teaspoon salt, divided
½ pounds whole-wheat rotini
3 teaspoons lemon zest
1 large garlic clove, grated
¼ cup lemon juice
½ cup grated parmesan, plus more for garnish (parmigiano reggiano is best)
Reserved pasta water
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Add chicken breast(s) to a rimmed baking sheet. Brush with 2 teaspoons olive oil. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Bake chicken for 45-55 minutes or until chicken has reached 165 degrees and juices run clear. When there are 15 minutes left, add broccoli. (See next step.)
Toss broccoli with 2 teaspoons olive oil and ¼ teaspoon salt. When chicken has about 15 minutes left, pull the chicken out and scatter broccoli around. Bake until chicken is done cooking and broccoli is bright green. When the chicken is done cooking, let rest for 5 minutes, then cut into bite-sized pieces or shred.
While the chicken cooks, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Season with salt. It should taste as salty as sea water.
When there is about 8 minutes left for the chicken to cook. Add pasta. Stir.
While the pasta cooks, add lemon zest, garlic, lemon juice and remaining salt together in a large bowl. When the pasta is done cooking, immediately transfer to bowl using a sieve, reserve cooking liquid. Add chicken, broccoli, parmesan and ¼ cup of pasta water. Toss together. (The heat of the pasta and water will cook the garlic and create a sauce.) If necessary, add more pasta water. Season to taste with salt and pepper and garnish with more grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
*Inspired by Ina Garten
Recipe by Cooking for Keeps at https://www.cookingforkeeps.com/lemony-roasted-chicken-broccoli-rotini/