Chicken Courgetti Linguine With Tomatoes And Chilli

Peel lengths off your courgette[s] with a peeler until you end up with a pile of courgette ribbons, stack the courgette ribbons on top of each other, fold in half lengthways, finely slice until you end up with a pile of courgetti and finely slice any remaining inner stem[s]

Tip: Use a spiraliser or julienne peeler to make your courgetti if you have one!

Take your chicken out of the fridge, open the packet and let it air, then boil a kettle

Add your pasta to a pot of boiled water and bring to the boil over a high heat, cook the pasta for 7-9 min (🔄 10-12 min for wholewheat) or until cooked with a slight bite

Add your courgetti to a colander, once done, drain the cooked pastas over the courgetti, reserving a cup of the starchy pasta water

Return the drained courgetti and pasta to the pot

While the pasta is cooking, reboil half a kettle

Peel and finely chop (or grate) your garlic

Chop your cherry tomatoes in half

Chop your chicken breast portion[s] into bite-sized pieces

Heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) with a drizzle of olive oil over a high heat

Add the chopped garlic and chilli flakes (can't handle the heat? Go easy!) and cook for 1 min

Add the chopped chicken and the halved cherry tomatoes with a generous pinch of salt and cook for 4 min further

Dissolve your tomato paste and chicken stock mix in 200ml [300ml] [400ml] boiled water – this is your tomato stock

Chop your chives finely

Reduce to a medium-high heat and add your Chinese rice wine to the pan and cook for 30 secs, then pour in the tomato stock

Cook for 6-8 min or until the chicken is cooked through (no pink meat!) and the sauce has reduced to a pasta sauce-like consistency

Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and remove from the heat

Stir through a generous knob of butter and half the chopped chives (save the rest for garnish!)

Add the cooked courgetti pasta to the sauce, give everything a good mix up and cook for 2-3 min or until the courgetti is slightly softened – this is your chicken courgetti pasta with tomatoes and chilli

Tip: Add a splash of starchy pasta water if your sauce is looking a little dry!