Nothing says comfort food like a hot bowl of creamy pasta, especially when paired with authentic Italian flavours.
Packed with cream, tomatoes, chicken and spinach, this recipe by Napolina makes for the perfect weeknight or weekend meal.
Branded “delicious” by its creators, they described the meal as “a simple and tasty” addition to your home cooking repertoire.
While the ingredients warrant the perfect blend of flavours, there’s plenty of opportunity to play around with this dish.
Simply add extra greens, swap out the protein or go a little lighter on the cream to make the pasta an even healthier option.
Ingredients
Serves four
- 500g penne pasta
- One can of chopped tomatoes
- Three chicken breasts, cut into chunks
- Two shallots, finely chopped
- Two tablespoons of tomato puree
- Olive oil
- Four garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 15 fresh basil, plus extra to serve
- One teaspoon paprika
- One teaspoon of onion powder
- One teaspoon of black pepper (cracked)
- One teaspoon oregano
- 300ml double cream
- 600ml chicken stock
- 100g spinach leaves
- Grated parmesan (around four tablespoons)
This recipe is best made with Napolina oil, puree, tomatoes and pasta, but it’s easy to substitute with whatever you already have at home.
Creamy chicken and spinach pasta recipe
Take a large cast-iron dish or deep frying pan and add two tablespoons of olive oil, followed by the shallots, garlic, herbs and spices.
Squeeze in the tomato puree then leave everything to fry for five minutes over medium heat.
Add the chopped chicken and cook for five more minutes to allow the meat to brown a little.
Pour in the chopped tomatoes, stock and double cream, then mix everything in the pan. Throw in the washed spinach leaves and stir to combine.
Add the Napolina Penne Pasta directly to the pan without pre-boiling it – it will soften as it bubbles away in the pan.
Mix everything well, ensuring the pasta is evenly distributed in the sauce.
Sprinkle the pan with two tablespoons of parmesan then cover the pan with a lid and leave to cook for 45 minutes over medium heat, until the pasta has cooked through.
At this point, the sauce should be thick and creamy and the pasta should be al dente (a little off being entirely soft).
Serve immediately with a little more parmesan cheese, fresh basil and a sprinkle more black pepper.
