Recipes From My Travels - Spanish chicken with creamy pasta - The Stratford Observer

Recipes From My Travels - Spanish chicken with creamy pasta

Stratford Editorial 25th Jun, 2022   0

CHEF and blogger Paul James writes for our paper.

Quite often I get sent photos and recipes from people who want to show me their favourite dishes which they created from memories of their travels.

I think it’s lovely to share other peoples dishes occasionally to thank them for following my food and travel columns and social media platforms.

I’m going to share this recipe my son made.

He’s studying at University, so this dish would have to be quick and popular with his housemates.




He got this idea from his holiday to Benidorm, Spain, with his pals a couple of years ago.

He had this dish of grilled chicken with pasta in a bar, just before venturing off for a quiet night out with the lads!


This dish is definitely ideal for a quick and tasty snack to suit my son’s busy lifestyle then and now…..

I’m just so pleased he tried a local (ish) dish while he was away in Spain instead of the usual fish, chips, kebabs and pizzas most tourists decide to eat when away on holiday.

My belief is when you are away from home you should at least try one of the local dishes to experience the culture and culinary tastes of the country you are visiting.

Okay, so this dish isn’t exactly Paella or Gazpacho, Migas or even Bacalao but at least he gave it a go.

Visit facebook.com/recipesfrommytravels/ to see Paul’s blog and more of his recipes and stories from around the world.

Go to rfmtbusinessdirectory.com for his business directory and promotion site.

Spanish chicken with creamy pasta

Ingredients

2 Chicken breast fillets.

Cooked Pasta (any pasta of your choice)

50ml Whole milk

120g of cream cheese (such as Philadelphia)

Salt and pepper for seasoning

Half a jar of chargrilled red peppers.

Spanish paprika, or pimentón

Fresh parsley (finely chopped)

Pinch of saffron

Sprig of rosemary

Sprig of thyme

1 clove of garlic (minced)

1 tbsp of olive oil

 

Method

1. Firstly in a small bowl soak the saffron with some boiled water that has been left to cool.

2. Then in a container add the chicken, half the minced garlic, the rosemary and thyme, a pinch of pimento (Spanish paprika) and the saffron strands from the water.

3. Gently mix together.

4. Then add your oil and massage into your chicken marinade.

5. Cover and leave to marinade for a couple of hours or overnight in the fridge.

6. In a saucepan, boil the pasta of your choice, following the packet’s cooking guidelines. Once cooked, drain well, add a knob of butter. Cover with a lid, give it a shake and leave to one side to cool.

7. Heat a griddle pan until hot and gently place in the chicken breasts from the marinade (when removing the marinated chicken from the fridge allow it to come up to room temperature before cooking)

8. Cook the chicken thoroughly. Remove and place on a warm plate.

9. Quickly wipe the griddle pan and add the peppers and remaining mince garlic and cook for a few minutes until hot.

10. Dice the peppers and add to the pasta.

11. Now in a saucepan, add the milk, bring gently to a rolling simmer.

12. Add the cream cheese.

13, Reduce the heat to low and stir until the cheese blends and forms a creamy sauce.

14. Then carefully pour in the creamy cheese sauce to the pasta and peppers, add the parsley and warm through.

15. Serve the pasta in warm bowls and top with the Spanish chicken which you have sliced.

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