
Pronunciation: con-KEEL-yay. That’s the new word I learned last weekend flipping though an Italian menu.
Shelter-in-place has been stressful. Working from home blurs the start and end of a work day. Many days, we work round the clock ‘zooming’ with co-workers in different time zones. Everyone in our household work from home, so figuring out what to put on the table three meals a day is an added stress on top of a round-the-clock work schedule.
I look forward to weekends and hunting for new spots opened for outdoor dining. This is the only outlet we have to relax, chill, and get a breath of fresh air. An added goal for me is to get some inspiration on what to cook for next week’s dinner.
I found my inspiration from Pranzi this week.

The Conchiglie from Pranzi was really tasty. I tried to recreate it immediately for this week’s dinner. I used the hazelnut pesto as the base for the sauce and added pan-fried chicken, brocolli, sundried tomatoes, and lots of mushrooms. Mmmm…, tastes really good! I doubled the recipe so that it can last us through the end of the week before I have to go in search of another inspiration next weekend.
Ingredients
- 1 packages of Conchiglie (12 oz each)
- 1.5 lb thin-sliced chicken breast
- Breading for cooking chicken
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- Butter/Olive oil for frying
- 3 cups baby brocolli, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 lb mushrooms (I used a combo of shimeji and sliced shitake mushrooms)
- 1/3 cup Hazelnut Pesto, see Hanna’s Handmade Hazelnut Pesto Pasta for recipe
- 2 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 Tbsp sea salt
- 1/2 Tbsp ground black pepper
- Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish
Directions
- Prepare the pasta per package instructions. I prefer the pasta to be al dente, so reduce the boiling time. Drain and set aside.
- Steam brocolli for 5 minutes until just tender. Set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients for chicken breading in a large bowl.
- Slice and pat dry chicken breast with paper towel.
- Heat butter or olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat.
- Dip each slice of chicken in breading mix and pan fry about 4-5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Drain and set aside.
- Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a large clean skillet over medium high heat.
- Add minced garlic and stir fry for a minute until fragrant.
- Add mushrooms and cook for a couple of minute until mushrooms starts to soften.
- Add pesto, heavy cream, salt, and pepper. Bring to a gentle boil.
- Stir in drained pasta and brocolli and stir until evenly coated with pesto sauce.
- Divide into serving dishes. Top with sliced chicken, and garnish with grated Parmesan cheese.
- Serve hot.







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