It’s officially a crime to throw away broccoli stalk…it’s just so tasty and too nutritious to waste, having the same huge amount of vitamin C and all the rest of the goodness as the florets ! This is a great recipe for using up that stalk, but it’s also great in stir fries.
(Serves 2)
- 150g Broccoli stalk cut in 2cm cubes
- 4 Chicken thighs with skin and bone (left over roast chicken and chicken breast can be used but the flavour of the thigh meat adds a lot to this dish)
- 120g Whole wheat pasta
- Garlic clove sliced finely
- Big handful of Basil
- 2tsp. Olive oil
- Red chilli (amount to personal taste)
- Chili flakes (amount to personal taste)
- 1tbsp. Sundried tomatoes oil drained off
- 1tsp. Lemon zest
- 1tsp. Lemon juice
- 1tbsp. Water
- Salt & Pepper
- Heat your oven to 200oC and bake the chicken skin-side up for 20 minutes
- While the chicken is in the oven, combine the basil, olive oil, fresh red chili, lemon zest, water, lemon juice and sundried tomato in a pestle and mortar or blender until you get a coarse paste, then season with pepper and salt
- Once the chicken has cooked removed the skin and remove the meat from the bone – you don’t need to be pretty about it just shredd as much meat off as you can!
- Too a frying pan over a medium heat add the chicken along with the garlic, chilli flakes, and broccoli stalk and stir to ensure the garlic doesn’t burn – there should be enough fat from the chicken to ensure the garlic doesn’t stick to the pan (if not add a touch of rapeseed oil)
- While the broccoli stalk is cooking boil some water and cook the pasta till al dente
- Once the pasta is cooked and the broccoli stalk is still just a bit crunchy you can combine everything together including the sauce you made earlier
- Garnish with some extra chili, lemon zest and basil and then…EAT!!!