Recipes

Chicken pink sauce pasta: creamy, a little spicy, ready in 30 minutes

چکن پنک ساس پاستا

Last reviewed 15 November 20262 min read

Short answer

Boil 250 g penne a minute short of the packet time. Cook spiced chicken, then make the sauce: butter, garlic, tomato puree and a teaspoon of pizza seasoning, cooked 3 minutes, then cream or milk and cheese on low heat. Toss the pasta in with a splash of pasta water and finish with oregano and chilli flakes.

Makes:: Serves 3–4
Prep:: 10 min
Cook:: 20 min

Ingredients

250 g penne
250 g boneless chicken in small cubes
½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, ½ tsp red chilli powder, ½ tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp butter
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ cup tomato puree
1 tsp pizza seasoning
¾ cup cream (or 1 cup milk with 2 tbsp cream)
½ cup grated cheddar or mozzarella
To finish: oregano and crushed red chilli

Method

Boil the penne in well-salted water for 1 minute less than the packet says. Keep half a cup of the pasta water, then drain.
Toss the chicken with salt, black pepper, red chilli and garlic powder. Cook in the oil on medium-high for 6–7 minutes until cooked through. Set aside.
In the same pan, melt the butter and cook the chopped garlic for 30 seconds.
Add the tomato puree and pizza seasoning and cook 3 minutes, stirring, until it darkens slightly.
Lower the heat, stir in the cream or milk and simmer gently for 2 minutes. Do not let it boil hard.
Add the cheese and stir until melted, then the chicken and pasta. Loosen with a little pasta water until glossy.
Serve with a pinch of oregano and chilli flakes on top.

Why pasta water

The starchy water helps the sauce cling to the pasta instead of pooling at the bottom of the plate. Add it a spoon at a time.

White sauce or red sauce instead

White sauce: skip the tomato, use 1 tbsp maida cooked in the butter with 1½ cups milk. Red sauce: skip the cream and double the tomato puree. The same teaspoon of pizza seasoning works in all three.