Chicken and Asparagus with Lemon-Basil Pasta

Place the chicken in a roasting tray and cover liberally with salt, pepper and one tablespoon of the oil. Put in the oven at 180º Celsius (360º Fahrenheit) for ten minutes.

Once done, add the asparagus spears to the chicken tray, add another tablespoon of oil, and return to the oven for a further fifteen minutes.

In the meantime, you will need to begin boiling the pasta and making the sauce. Both of these should take about ten minutes.

Chop the onion and mince the garlic cloves. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil on a low flame for a moment before adding the onion and garlic. After a minute, add the white wine. Continue cooking until the onion is soft. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and wine, and stir to form a loose roux.

Slowly whisk in the cream. Season with salt, pepper and basil.

Once heated through and slightly reduced, turn the heat off under the creamy sauce and leave it to rest until the pasta is cooked.

Once the pasta is ready, add about half a cup of pasta water to the cream sauce, and drain. Add the lemon zest and juice to the sauce, turn the heat back up to medium-low, and stir through. Taste and season accordingly. If the sauce tastes a little too lemony, add the milk and some salt.

The sauce should be warm by now, so add the pasta back into the sauce and stir thoroughly until everything is nice and hot. Be careful not to curdle the sauce. Serve with the chicken and asparagus.