CAJUN CHICKEN TAGLIATELLE

Rather than being made with chicken that spent most of their life in the south of Louisiana, this pasta recipe uses a Cajun inspired spice mix to give the chicken a little vavavoom. I chuck in a bit of lemon zest as well which provides some zestiness. Would you fucking believe that? This is a banger of a midweek pasta recipe guaranteed to create smiles and love and joy.

20-30 Mins

Ingredients

(Serves 2)

FOR THE SPICE MIX

Tablespoon Smoked Paprika
Tablespoon Garlic Powder
Tablespoon White Pepper
Tablespoon Cayenne Pepper
Tablespoons Aleppo Pepper
Tablespoon Dry Thyme
Tablespoon Oregano
Teaspoon of Salt
Crack of Black Pepper
Zest of 1 Lemon

2 Medium Sized Chicken Breasts
4-5 Cloves of Garlic
Half a Red Onion
A Red Pepper
Tablespoon Tomato Purée
A Handful of Cherry Tomatoes
3-4 Nests of Tagliatelle/200-250g
2 Tablespoons Cream Cheese
Handful of Fresh Parsley
Juice of a Lemon
Handful of Parmesan

Ingredients

Instructions

Mix all of your spices and herbs together in a bowl. Half of this is for the chicken and half will make the sauce extra nice. Use a microplane to zest your lemon if you have one! Peel and grate your cloves of garlic, peel and slice your red onion and slice your red pepper and remove the janky white shit. Slice a handful of cherry tomatoes in half. Set this prepped veg aside.
Put your chicken breasts between two bits of cling film and bash them with a rolling pin/something heavy to flatten them out. When flat, coat these chicken breasts with half of your spice mix. Do this on a plate so you can rub the breasts around to make sure they've taken on all the flavoursome powder.
Heat a splash of olive oil in a pan and give each chicken breast 3 minutes or so on each side on a medium-high heat to get some colour on them. When done, set aside on a plate and cover with foil and a towel to keep warm. If using dried tagliatelle you want this cooking in boiling salty water now.
Add a bit more olive oil to the same pan and add your garlic, onion and pepper and mix about over a medium-high heat. Once the onion has softened and the red pepper still has a bit of crunch, stir in some tomato purée and the remaining cajun spice mix. Add your sliced tomatoes here, the moisture should help the spice mix spread out a bit. If using fresh tagliatelle you can get it into boiling salted water now.
Add a good splash of pasta water to the vegetables and spice mix and stir around for a bit. Things should be looking like a nice sauce as everything cooks down. Stir in a big load of cream cheese and then add your drained pasta, some chopped parsley and the juice of a lemon and mix everything together. Season and mix in parmesan here.
Slice your chicken breasts into smaller bits and stir these through the pasta and sauce, letting everything cook for a few minutes longer. When everything is mixed together and lovely, it is time to serve up. Top with parsley and parmesan and get lost in the sauce.