In the days before lockdown, when I worked in an office, my Italian desk-mate once told me that serving pasta with chicken was not the done thing. Pasta sauces, she insisted, could be made with proper meat or just with vegetables but not with poultry.
Nonetheless, I make no apologies for this deeply inauthentic recipe, even though it barely qualifies as a recipe at all.
We had some leftover roast chicken, some passata that was nominally out of date, and assorted vegetables. We also had some wholewheat dried pasta, so it seemed obvious to combine them. Despite some mixed results over the years, I have always maintained that combining pasta, passata and whatever is in the fridge is pretty certain to produce a fairly edible meal.
As one of the lucky ones who is currently able to work full time from home, I have no plans to retrain as either a chef or a food photographer.
Passata and potluck pasta
Serves 4.
Ingredients
300g or so dried pasta (any shape)
1 small onion
1 clove of garlic (or more - I am quite wimpy about garlic)
glob of olive oil
1 yellow pepper
handful of white mushrooms
roughly 400g of passata
dried herbs (sadly, I rarely have fresh herbs in stock - I used basil and rosemary)
glug of rosé wine (because it was open)
leftover cooked chicken
4 big handfuls of spinach
parmesan cheese
black pepper
Method
Dice the onion and chop the garlic finely. Fry in a saucepan with some olive oil.
Chop the papper and add to the pan. Stir.
Slice the mushrooms and to the pan. Stir.
Add the passata and wine, and sprinkle in some dried herbs. Stir.
Add the chicken and stir.
Leave to cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
In the meantime, boil the pasta in another saucepan. Mine took 9 minutes.
When the pasta is nearly ready, add the spinach to the sauce to give it a bit of time to wilt.
Drain the pasta and stir in briefly into the sauce.
Serve in plates or bowls, with grated parmesan and black pepper on top.
Buon appetito! (or, as people often say when I cook, Never mind!)
Nonetheless, I make no apologies for this deeply inauthentic recipe, even though it barely qualifies as a recipe at all.
 |
| Heresy: poultry in a pasta sauce |
We had some leftover roast chicken, some passata that was nominally out of date, and assorted vegetables. We also had some wholewheat dried pasta, so it seemed obvious to combine them. Despite some mixed results over the years, I have always maintained that combining pasta, passata and whatever is in the fridge is pretty certain to produce a fairly edible meal.
As one of the lucky ones who is currently able to work full time from home, I have no plans to retrain as either a chef or a food photographer.
 |
| Dried pasta apparently comes in many shapes but I like wholewheat fusilli |
Passata and potluck pasta
Serves 4.
Ingredients
300g or so dried pasta (any shape)
1 small onion
1 clove of garlic (or more - I am quite wimpy about garlic)
glob of olive oil
1 yellow pepper
handful of white mushrooms
roughly 400g of passata
dried herbs (sadly, I rarely have fresh herbs in stock - I used basil and rosemary)
glug of rosé wine (because it was open)
leftover cooked chicken
4 big handfuls of spinach
parmesan cheese
black pepper
 |
| Delicious, nutritious spinach |
Dice the onion and chop the garlic finely. Fry in a saucepan with some olive oil.
Chop the papper and add to the pan. Stir.
Slice the mushrooms and to the pan. Stir.
Add the passata and wine, and sprinkle in some dried herbs. Stir.
Add the chicken and stir.
Leave to cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
In the meantime, boil the pasta in another saucepan. Mine took 9 minutes.
When the pasta is nearly ready, add the spinach to the sauce to give it a bit of time to wilt.
Drain the pasta and stir in briefly into the sauce.
Serve in plates or bowls, with grated parmesan and black pepper on top.
Buon appetito! (or, as people often say when I cook, Never mind!)
 |
| It looked much prettier lightly dusted with parmesan (but that photo was out of focus and I didn't realise until it was too late) |
Excellent! It's a cheering post very much in the "it's open, this will do" style we enjoy. (Although wholemeal fusili... hmmm, not at the top of my list. Better than farfalle though.)
ReplyDeleteIs it the wholemeal or the fusilli that bothers you? Thanks to Aldi's approach to pasta (is PASTA, why you need another shape?) WF is pretty much my go-to.
DeleteI’m sorry but the very Italian soul in me is saying NO! As your deskmate. :-) Chicken tomatoe sauce and pasta ... if you really want a chicken pasta, I suggest a white ragout. Try it!
ReplyDeleteAhh Francesca, you're so calm about all the terrible things we are doing to risotto, but this horrifies your soul!
DeleteI make a really nice shredded chicken and tomato stew, which is Mexican, and really close to this recipe. I promise you, it's good!
I’ll try to be more openminded. I swear!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteFeel like this is the Walk of Shame...
DeleteI have also been known to make chicken and tomato pasta.
Not for ages now I think of it - more likely to do something like Melinda's stew - but it has happened. Like fish finger sandwiches, wrong but tasty.
Update: My Italian deskmate has forgiven me. I am informed that a little heresy in cooking is permitted during semi-quarantine, and wholewheat pasta at least is 'very good'.
DeleteFeels like we're all growing as people. Heartwarming, thank you.
Delete