Tortellini with Lemon Chicken

On Sunday, we went to the local Greek Festival. Then on Monday, my parents returned from a 3-week trip to Greece. One might think I would have cooked some Greek food last night for dinner welcoming them back? One would be wrong.

20 oz fresh, filled tortellini (filling is pretty much your choice)
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts
8 oz cremini (baby bella) mushrooms
3-4 medium tomatoes
2 zucchini
5 cloves garlic
.75 oz fresh sage
2 lemons
olive oil
salt & pepper

I find the order of preperation for this dish important, so here it is explicitly. I use "mise bowls" - little glass bowls to put all the prepared ingredients into so that they are all ready to dump into the saute pan.

1. Put on a pot of water to boil
2. Chop the tomatoes and put them in the serving bowl.
   
3. Slice the garlic very thinly. This may seem laborious, but it's worth it
4. Slice the sage thinly lengthwise
5. Brush and quarter the mushrooms. Did you know you shouldn't wash mushrooms with water? They soak it up. Instead, use a mushroom brush.
6. Dice the zucchini into small cubes
7. Heat 5 T olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the garlic and saute briefly, about 1 minute, just until turning golden. Then add the sage and saute about one minute more until garlic and sage are crispy. Use a slotted spoon to remove the garlic and sage from the oil and set aside in a mise bowl. By the way, this crispy garlic & sage trick is one I absolutely love, you can apply it to so many dishes.
8. You probably want to put the pasta in to cook right about now.
   
9. Add the mushrooms and zucchini to the oil, and saute until the mushrooms start to express some of their liquid. Transfer all the contents of the pan to your serving bowl.
10. Add 2 T olive oil to the pan and heat.
11. While that is heating, slice the chicken breasts lengthwise in approximately 1/2 inch wide strips.
12. Add the chicken to the pan and saute, just until pinkness disappears. Salt and pepper to taste.
    
13. Using a reamer (preferably), juice the 2 lemons directly into the pan. Who cares about seeds?
14. Turn down the heat and simmer for about 2 minutes
15. The pasta should finish up right about now, so drain it and add to serving bowl. You may want to add a ladle-full of the pasta water as well.
16. Add the chicken and it's sauce to the bowl, toss. Top with the crispy sage and garlic and serve.