Bruschetta Chicken Pasta 

Here today, gone tomato. Or in a few minutes if you’re anything like me! This recipe is one of those oh so satisfying dinners that will leave you wanting more, but when you’ve probably already eaten enough for 4 people as it is. 

 

I love pasta dishes because more often than not they are uncomplicated in their preparation, they require good quality ingredients and very little messing around- just how good homely food should be. 

This dish is rich in tomato flavours, full of Umami (that delightful savoury sensation when you eat something) and bursting full of healthy goodness. 

You’ll probably find that you already have a lot of the ingredients needed, and can easily make a few extra batches for lunch and dinners for the week as this is a wonderful meal to pop into a Tupperware and heat up another time. 

It’s also a perfect dish to really learn how to start balancing flavours and tastes according to your ingredients and taste buds- a core component to becoming a great cook. 

Let’s do this…

 

 

Ingredients:

 

• Chicken breast

• 1 Tin of chopped tomatoes 

• 2 TBSP Tomato Paste

• 1 red Onion

• 2-3 Garlic cloves or Garlic Paste (to taste)

• Fresh Basil

• A small fresh chilli 

• A pinch of sugar, salt and ground black pepper 

Additional: 

• Fresh tomatoes of any kind 

• Parma Ham

• Parmesan, Mozzarella or cheddar cheese (optional) 

• Spaghetti or your fave pasta

Method: 

1. Crack on with the sauce. If you have a food blender and little time simply add in all of the ingredients for the sauce and blitz until chunky but well combined then slowly heat in a saucepan with a little olive oil and skip to step 3. If you don’t own one it’s not a problem and if you have a little  more time I would always suggest simply dicing the onion into small pieces, finely chopping  the garlic and chilli and heating this in a small pan until transparent with a little olive  

 oil.  

2. Next add in your tomato paste and stir for a minute, add in your chopped tomatoes and finally your basil. Let this reduce and become thicker for a good 5 minutes over a low heat, taste and season with the sugar, salt and pepper. 

3.Adapt the sauce to meet your palette- would you like it with more chilli or garlic, are the tomatoes quite sour or harsh- just add a little more sugar. Once to your taste, set aside. 

4. Prep the chicken breast by scoring the top in a criss-cross pattern about 1cm deep. This will allow the flavours to penetrate the meat. Pop it on some tin foil and onto a baking dish, top with a generous amount of the sauce and as a delicious extra why not wrap it in Parma ham too? Cover with Tinfoil and place in the oven for 17-20 mins or until cooked through. 

5. Meanwhile, get your pasta ready- boil up some water and follow the directions on the packet.

6. To serve simply drain your pasta, pour in the sauce to your hearts content and stir-through while on low heat. Plate up the sauce soaked pasta, top with your delicious Bruschetta chicken and add fresh tomatoes & cheese of your choice. I also enjoy a drizzle of olive oil, a balsamic reduction or chilli oil/flakes. 

7. Voila, tuck in and devour.