Lemon Chicken Fettuccine

This recipe popped up on my Pinterest feed and I thought it sounded incredibly light and delicious. It's a lemon chicken fettuccine with mushrooms and cherry tomatoes - all things we love. Unfortunately it didn't turn out quite like I had hoped but I still wanted to blog it because I think with a couple of tweaks it could be that incredibly light and delicious pasta dish I envisioned (thoughts below the recipe)!

Lemon Chicken Fettuccine
   Prep time 10 mins | Cook time 20 mins | Total time 30 mins | Serves 4-6
Ingredients
8 oz fettuccine, cooked (we used homemade on this night)
3 tbsp Pompeian Arbequina extra virgin olive oil
3 to 4 boneless chicken breast halves, cubed
salt and pepper, to taste
1 pint sweet grape tomatoes, halved
8 oz mushroom slices
¼ cup loosely packed fresh flat leaf parsley
For the dressing
2 tbsp Pompeian Arbequina extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
⅛ teaspoon garlic powder (substituted 1 crushed garlic clove)
salt and pepper, to taste
grated parmesan cheese, optional

Directions
   Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; add cubed chicken pieces. Season with salt and pepper; cook until chicken is browned on all sides, stirring occasionally. Add halved grape tomatoes, sliced mushrooms and parsley; frequently stirring, continue to cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Add cooked fettuccine to chicken mixture and cook until heated through, stirring frequently.
   In a cup or a jar, combine olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt and pepper; shake it or stir it until thoroughly mixed. Stir into pasta mixture.
   Remove from heat. Taste for salt and pepper; adjust accordingly. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese. Serve.

What I'll do different next time

1. The cherry tomatoes completely stewed down into the sauce; next time I will not add them with the mushrooms (and I really started to add them later when I made it but I really wanted to follow the recipe as is). I would add them when the cooked fettucine is added because they just need to be warmed through.

2. Patrick and I both commented that the lemon flavor was lacking; I will do 2 juiced lemons and add some zest to the pasta.

We made the homemade pasta with 100 grams of whole wheat flour and 200 grams of all-purpose flour (our pasta template is 100 grams for each egg and at least half should be all-purpose so that it won't have problems rolling out). Most recipes will say the 100 grams flour/1 egg should be estimated for 1 person but we are finding that, for us, 200 grams flour/2 eggs is appropriate for about 4 servings. 

Served with a side salad and red wine

Nacho and his hippo toy