Creamy Tomato Chicken Pasta

Recipe:

Ingredient Notes:

• Chicken: For this dish, chicken thighs are your best bet. They guarantee a succulent result. If you’re opting for chicken breast fillet instead, reduce the braising time to 10 minutes.
• Tomatoes: The recipe calls for canned tomatoes in their own juice. Look for cans that list only tomatoes, tomato juice, and possibly salt and citric acid in the ingredients. Avoid any varieties that include vinegar or sugar. If canned tomatoes aren’t available, you can use fresh ones. For the quantities in this recipe, use 350g of fresh tomatoes and add 50g of tomato paste for a richer flavor.
• Bell Peppers: Feel free to use different colored bell peppers, but in my experience, red ones tend to be the sweetest. Frozen bell peppers work too, just make sure to defrost them before adding them to the pan.
• Onions: Regular yellow onions are perfectly fine for this dish. However, you can certainly use red, white, or shallots if you prefer or have them on hand.
• Garlic: For optimal flavor in this recipe, always use fresh garlic.
• Cream: This recipe uses 20% cream (often labeled “light cream” or “table cream”) for sauces. If you only have heavy cream (30% or more), you can still use it, but you’ll need less – about 100ml should be enough. Keep in mind you might need a little extra stock or water to achieve the desired sauce consistency.
• Stock: If you have chicken stock (especially homemade or frozen), I highly recommend adding it, as it will significantly deepen the sauce’s flavor. If stock isn’t an option, water works just fine.
• Pasta: I used fettuccine in this dish, but you can honestly use any pasta shape you like. Both long varieties like spaghetti or short ones like penne and fusilli will work beautifully.

Let’s start cooking.

Remove the bones from the chicken thighs and cut each one in 2-3 pieces.

Heat one tablespoon of vegetable oil in a frying pan over high heat. Sear the chicken in several batches until golden brown on both sides, about one minute per side. Transfer to a plate.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the finely chopped onion and sauté, stirring, for 4 minutes.

Add the bell pepper, cut into 1.5 x 1.5 cm pieces. Sauté for another 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently.

Puree the tomatoes with their juice in a food processor and add them to the pan. Add stock or water. Season with salt to taste.

Add the seared chicken thighs to the pan. Cover and braise over medium heat for about 20 minutes or until cooked through. Five minutes before the end, add the finely chopped garlic.

Remove the chicken from the pan and place it on a plate to keep it warm.

Pour the cream into the sauce, bring it to a boil, then turn off the heat.

Meanwhile, boil the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain it and transfer it to the sauce. Stir.

Spread the pasta on plates and put the chicken pieces on top. Serve.

Enjoy!

This Creamy Tomato Chicken Pasta recipe was checked, prepared and approved by Chef Tatyana Nazaruk - author of FlavorIt.com.
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