Heaven on a Plate

I have had this recipe starred in my google reader for some time now and last night I finally had a reason to make it. My husband's parents joined us for dinner and since they were craving Italian I figured this pasta dish would be a great one to try out. It was very easy to make and besides roasting the garlic it took minimal time to make. This was a hit with everyone my husband and I both had two servings and my father in law had at least 3 and we still have lots of leftovers.


When looking at the recipe I was wondering how many heads of garlic I would have to roast to end up with 1/2 cup of garlic paste. I ended up roasting 6 small heads and that was just enough for this dish and the garlic herb swirl bread that I made to go along with it. When I told my husband that there was about 6 heads of garlic in the dish he was shocked, but I explained to him that it is roasted garlic and roasted garlic does not have as vibrant of a flavor as regular.


Ziti with Chicken and Broccoli in a White Wine Cheddar Sauce
(Source: Good Things Catered)

Ingredients:
1 lb. ziti
3 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup roasted garlic paste (made by roasting garlic in oven and squeezing garlic out of skin)
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 c. dry vermouth or dry white wine
2 c. low-sodium chicken stock
1 large head of broccoli, cut into florets(about 2 c.)
10 oz. cooked chicken, cubed or shredded (about 2 c.)
3 oz. aged reserve cheddar (preferably white), grated (about 1 1/2 c.)
4 - 6 thin strips of Parmesan cheese (optional)
salt and ground pepper

Directions:
-Bring 4 qt. of water to a boil in large pot and cook ziti according to box directions to only al dente and set aside.
-At the same time, lightly steam broccoli florets on to of pan in steamer and set aside.
-Meanwhile, melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
-When just coming to foaming, add garlic paste and cook until fragrant (about 1 min)
-Add flour and cook until beginning to turn golden (about 2 min.)
-Add vermouth and cook until evaporated (about 1 min).
-Stir broth into pan and simmer sauce until slightly thickened (about 2 min).
-Add cheddar and stir constantly while returning to a boil.
-Fold in ziti cook for one minute additional and remove from heat.
-Add broccoli and chicken and fold until sauce covers uniformly.
-Plate and top with one or two strips of Parmesan (optional) and serve.