Giada'S Chicken In Lemon Cream And Penne - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 lb penne pasta (or substitute your favorite type of pasta or spaghetti)
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced into 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon herbes de provence
1 pinch salt, plus
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 cups heavy cream
1 lemon, zest of
1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped (I usually just sprinkle dried parsley, still tasts great!)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Preparation

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, season with salt. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, 8 to 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Season the cubed chicken with herbes de Provence, salt and pepper. Cook the chicken until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken and set aside. Pour off excess oil from pan.Drain. Add the chicken broth the pan and cook over medium-high heat, scraping up any bits with a wooden spoon. Add the cream, lemon zest, and cayenne. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the pasta, chicken, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, chopped parsley, and lemon juice. Toss to coat the pasta and chicken with the sauce and serve.