Asparagus and Chicken with Whole Wheat Orzo

It's asparagus season! And as a fairly newly converted fan I can't resist the temptation, and on every Saturday, when we do our weekly grocery shopping I pick up a bunch from the store.

I've been quite busy lately, so dinner has to be quick and easy... Last night I threw together this light asparagus-orzo pasta (as you can see, I'm now a fan of orzo, too): it's much the same as the mushroom-asparagus orzo I made a few weeks ago, it just uses chicken instead of the portobello mushrooms. I omitted the shallots (truth be told, I completely forgot about them), and added some cherry tomatoes in the mix. Let me tell you, it was delicious!

I'm writing down the recipe quickly before I forget.

Ingredients (3 servings):

0.5 lb chicken breast fillets, cubed
1 lb fresh asparagus spears, trimmed and cut in 1 inch pieces
5 garlic cloves (yes, I know, we love garlic. Amount can be adjusted to taste)
8-10 pieces sun dried tomatoes, sliced
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup whole wheat orzo pasta
2.5 cups water or chicken broth
0.5 cups dry white wine
1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence
1 cube chicken bouillon (optional)
3 tbs olive oil

Note made on June 29th: last time I made it I used 1 lb chicken and 1 lb asparagus, and 1.5 cups orzo for 4 servings. I left out the cherry tomatoes as I didn't have any, and they turned out perfect that way too, it was a really nice variation.

Preparation:

In a large skillet heat 1 tbs olive oil, add chicken, season with salt and pepper and cook on medium until chicken pieces are no longer pink in the inside (5-7 minutes). Add the wine, bring to a boil, and cook the chicken one minute longer before adding the orzo pasta. Add 2-2.5 cups water or chicken broth, bring to a boil, add chicken bouillon if using, 1/3 of the garlic (optional - I only added them to the pasta because I realized I chopped up too much garlic for the asparagus, but eventually it turned out to be a good idea), and half of the Herbes de Provence. Cook uncovered until pasta is ready, 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Meanwhile, in a separate frying pan heat the remaining olive oil, add the rest of the garlic and the sun dried tomato strips, and cook for 2-3 minutes, being careful not to brown the garlic. Add the asparagus spears, season with salt, pepper and the remaining Herbes de Provence, and saute on medium to high until asparagus is softened but still firm and bright green (5-7 minutes, at the most). For the last 2 minutes of cooking, add the halved cherry tomatoes to the asparagus. When then pasta is ready, mix in the asparagus and tomatoes, and serve with freshly grated Parmesan and a green salad. Enjoy your quick dinner!