Skinny Italian Chicken Pasta Salad

May 2024. I turn forty-two and it's the quietest birthday in years — Olivia is in D.C. for the internship, Ethan is deep in the restaurant opening logistics, Mason is in his junior year with finals week overlapping my birthday, and Noah has a school project due that he's been working on seriously for three weeks. Gary and I went to dinner alone, just the two of us, at a nice restaurant where someone else cooked beautiful food and all I had to do was eat it.

I ordered the pasta — homemade pappardelle with a rabbit ragu, which is not a thing I make at home and which was extraordinary. I ate it slowly and thought about nothing except the food, which is one of the gifts of going to a genuinely good restaurant: it asks you to pay full attention. Gary watched me eat and said, "You're analyzing it." I said, "Partially. I'm also just eating it." He said, "For you those are the same thing." He's right. The analysis and the pleasure coexist. They have for as long as I've been cooking.

Forty-two. The workshops have reached more than a thousand individual participants now — I counted properly last week with Jenny's help. One thousand people who've been in a room with me and learned something about cooking. That number has weight. I sat with it for a while after counting and felt it.

The second book has a publication date: January 2025. Eight months away. The cover art is coming together. The text is in final edits with Claire. It's almost here.

That pappardelle stayed with me — the way something extraordinary will when you’ve given it your full attention. I wasn’t going to recreate a rabbit ragu on a Tuesday, but I did want to bring some of that Italian intentionality into my own kitchen the following week, something with bright acidity and good structure that asked me to slow down the same way the restaurant had. This Skinny Italian Chicken Pasta Salad isn’t fine dining, but it’s honest and carefully made, and sitting down to a bowl of it felt like a small continuation of the birthday I’d given myself.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

12 oz rotini or penne pasta
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 lb), grilled and sliced thin
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup sliced black olives
1/2 cup jarred roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/4 cup pepperoncini slices
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup light Italian dressing (store-bought or homemade)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and black pepper to taste
Fresh basil leaves, torn, for serving

Instructions

Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain, rinse under cold water, and set aside.
Grill the chicken. Season chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Grill over medium-high heat for 6—7 minutes per side until cooked through. Let rest 5 minutes, then slice thin against the grain.
Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the Italian dressing, red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic powder, and a pinch of black pepper until combined.
Assemble the salad. In a large bowl, combine the cooled pasta, sliced chicken, cherry tomatoes, olives, roasted red peppers, red onion, and pepperoncini. Pour the dressing over the top and toss well to coat.
Finish and serve. Scatter Parmesan over the top and garnish with torn fresh basil. Serve immediately at room temperature, or refrigerate for up to 2 days — the flavors deepen overnight.

Nutrition (per serving)

Skinny Italian Chicken Pasta Salad — The Meal That Brought the Restaurant Home