Fajita-Style Pasta
The fajita flavours with the onions and peppers in a slightly creamy tomato sauce go really well together.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large skinless chicken breasts or 4 skinless boneless chicken thighs (approx. 400 to 450g) cut into strips (see Notes)
- 1 onion thinly sliced
- 1 red pepper deseeded and sliced
- 1 yellow pepper deseeded and sliced
- 1 garlic clove crushed
- 0.25 tsp chilli powder
- 0.5 tsp dried oregano
- 1 heaped tsp sweet smoked paprika or pimento
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 0.5 tsp ground cumin
- 3 tbsp tomato puree
- 80ml double cream – we use Elmlea to reduce the calories
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 350g penne or rigatoni pasta
- 3 tbsp flat leaf parsley finely chopped
- grated parmesan or cheddar to serve
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large shallow casserole or frying pan. Add the chicken and fry for 5 minutes over a medium heat until golden all over. Remove and set aside on a plate.
- Put the onion and peppers in the same pan and fry over a medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, skip to step 3 and cook the pasta. Then, add the garlic, dried herbs and spices to the onions and peppers and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato purée and cook for 2 minutes. Turn the heat down to low and return the chicken to the pan and pour in the cream, stirring to combine. Season to taste, then increase the heat to a simmer to keep warm until the pasta is cooked.
- Cook the pasta following pack instructions (normally 10 minutes), then drain and reserve 150ml of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the pan with 50ml of the water and stir everything together over the heat. Add a little more water to loosen if needed. Season to taste and stir through two thirds of the chopped parsley.
- Serve with a little grated cheese and the remaining parsley.
Notes
- The original recipe uses chicken breast, however, it was skinless boneless thighs I had in the freezer when deciding to make it the first time. We think it's good with either.
- When making the full recipe I got 5 portions – a portion each for dinner one night and 3 small bowls for lunches during the week.
- This fajita-style pasta recipe is easily adapted if you’re cooking for less or more people.