CHICKEN PASTA & RASPBERRY MESS

Ingredients

• 500 g pasta (fussili)

• 250 g portabellini mushrooms

• 3/4 cup whipping cream

• 150 g baby marrows, grated

• 4 free-range chicken breasts (skinned and boneless)

• fresh raspberries

• 200 g gingernut biscuits

• 4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• dash of Ayrshire milk

• a glug of olive oil, to drizzle

• 1 Tbsp garlic flakes

• chilli seasoning, to taste

• salt

• a sprinkle paprika

• 1 tsp white pepper, freshly ground

• 1/4 tsp turmeric

• 2 tsp granulated sugar

Cooking Instructions

1. Start by getting your pasta water going. Use plenty of water and add enough salt; it should taste like the sea. Cook the pasta as per instructions on the pack and do not overcook. It is a sin punishable by death.

2. Slice the chicken breasts into small chunks and place into a bowl. Add the salt, paprika, white pepper, turmeric and olive oil. Rub the mixture it into the chicken pieces and set aside.

3. Chop up the onion, mushrooms and baby marrows into fairly thin slices.

4. Fry the chicken pieces in a pan over medium high heat until the chicken has browned and is cooked through; this should only take about 5 minutes.

5. Remove the chicken and in the same pan, fry the onions, mushrooms and baby marrows until they start to soften. Have a taste. You may want to add some salt to these veggies as they can be a bit bland due to the high water content.

6. Before all the water is cooked out, add ¼ of the cream to form a sauce (if you have a bit of milk in the fridge you can add a dash of that, too). Put the chicken pieces back in the pan, together with the garlic & chilli seasoning and mix through.

7. When the pasta is cooked, drain it well and mix in with the chicken and veggies. Have a taste and adjust seasoning to taste.

FOR THE DESSERT:

1. In a small non stick pan, get the raspberries, 1 teaspoon sugar and a good dash of balsamic vinegar going over medium heat. We want to reduce the vinegar to a point where it starts to look like jam.

2. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar to the remaining cream and whip it with an electric beater until stiff. Place ¾ of the ginger biscuits in a plastic bag and attack them with a rolling pin or the back of your hand. You want to crush the biscuits into uneven sized pieces, but not totally annihilate them into crumbs.

3. Fold the ginger biscuits and raspberry jam into the cream and serve in a ramekin together with one or two of the biscuits you managed to save from certain death earlier.

Bon appétit!

#chicken #pasta #paspberry