Farfalle with Grilled Chicken, Artichoke Hearts, Kalamata Olives and Capers

My high school friend Pat shared a recipe of her mother-in-law's with me when she saw a Facebook post of my shopping cart from Trader Joe's loaded up with lots of good food including several packages of their frozen artichoke hearts.  I made the pasta earlier in the week and we loved it, but the second time I made it, I added grilled chicken. (Pat said her mother-in-law must be spinning in her grave! But what the heck is wrong with grilled chicken??)    

The oohs and aaahhs just kept coming, so I guess this will become a staple in my household!  I actually split the dish, omitted the cheese to keep it allergy friendly for my boys who are allergic to dairy.  I also substituted black olives in their plate because the jar of kalamata olives listed lactic acid and I was unsure if it was derived from vegetable sources or dairy so we decided to err on the side of caution. 

When Pat gave me this recipe, she didn't give amounts of ingredients, I just threw in what I thought looked and tasted good.  I tried to adjust the amounts to something measurable, but you may want to adjust to your own taste!  This made approximately 6 hearty servings and I accompanied this with a garden salad.

Farfalle with Grilled Chicken, Artichoke Hearts, Kalamata Olives and Capers

Box of Farfalle  (1lb)

3 whole boneless chicken breasts cut in 1/2 (or 6 thin sliced boneless chicken breasts)

1 envelope of Good Seasons Italian Dressing

olive oil

1 - 2 packages of frozen artichoke hearts (or 1-2 cans of artichoke hearts)  or if you are daring, use fresh artichoke hearts!

several cloves of garlic (to taste)

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup white wine

capers (to taste)

crushed red pepper (to taste)

salt and pepper (to taste)

Fresh parmesan cheese

Wash and trim chicken breasts.  Place in a bowl.  Mix 1 envelope of Good Seasons Italian Dressing with 4 tablespoons of olive oil.   Pour over the chicken breasts, mix well to coat chicken.  Grill, chop up in bite size pieces and set aside.

Cook Farfalle.  Reserve some of the pasta water.

In a medium to large skillet or fry pan, add garlic and artichoke hearts (right from the freezer if frozen) to approximately 1/2 cup olive oil.   Saute on medium heat until cooked, approximately 10 minutes.  

Add 1 cup of white wine (I used a single size serving bottle of pino grigio).  Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low/medium.  Add salt, pepper and hot pepper to taste.  Add the olives and capers just before adding to the Farfalle.  Add some of the pasta water if dish needs more liquid. 

Grate some fresh parmesan cheese on top!