The popular food trend ‘marry-me chicken’ is a firm favourite on dinner tables, so we’ve turned it into something even tastier with this creamy, cheesy, crunchy pasta bake recipe.
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Yields:
6 - 6
Prep Time:
10 mins
Cook Time:
35 mins
Total Time:
45 mins
Ingredients
500 g rigatoni
150 g baby spinach
280 g jar sun-dried tomatoes, drained (5tbsp oil reserved) and finely chopped
350 g boneless skinless chicken thighs, sliced into strips
1 red onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 Tbsp. smoked paprika
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
3 Tbsp. plain flour
300 ml single cream
500 ml chicken stock
25 g grated Parmesan
25 g breadcrumbs
1/2 25g pack fresh basil, finely chopped, plus extra to serve
Directions
Step 1Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan) mark 6. Cook the pasta in heavily salted water according to pack instructions, removing from the heat and draining 2min before it’s finished. Transfer to a big bowl and stir the spinach through the pasta along with 1tbsp of the sun-dried tomato oil.
Step 2Meanwhile, heat 3tbsp sun-dried tomato oil in a large, deep frying pan over a medium heat and cook the chicken for 6-8min, stirring occasionally until golden and almost cooked through. Season, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Then, add the onion and garlic to the pan, cooking for 2-3min until beginning to soften.
Step 3Add the butter in the onion pan and melt. Sprinkle in the paprika, oregano and flour. Stir with a wooden spoon, cooking for 2min until it smells biscuity. Reduce the heat and slowly pour in the cream, stirring constantly until combined. Stir in the stock, bring to a bubble then reduce the heat and stir in the sun-dried tomatoes, cooking for another 2min.
Step 4Season to taste then stir in the chicken and pasta. Pour into a large baking dish. Mix together the Parmesan, breadcrumbs and basil with the remaining oil and sprinkle on top before baking for 15-20min until golden and bubbling.
GH Tip
Our favourite pasta shape here in the GH kitchen is rigatoni – especially for pasta bakes. The sauce coats the outside ridges perfectly.
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Linzi joins the Good Housekeeping team as Kitchen Manager, looking after the brand-new, state-of-the art test and demo kitchens based in the heart of Leicester Square. With over a decade of experience producing food content for leading brands, she’s won awards for her recipes, battled Christmas dinners in July, and spent a lot of time pondering the next big food trend (no more pistachio, please!) Originally from the North East of Scotland, she lives in West London with her Italian husband and twin daughters, feeding them a variety of haggis and ragu - depending on the mood!
