This recipe is a part of a longer series all about the Weeknight chicken marinade which can be found here.

Pasta was the first thing I learned how to cook. It's the least daunting meal that requires using traditional equipment that we associate with the concept of cooking (stove, pan, knives – you know the things that actual cooks use every day). This dish allows for elevation in two ways. One, by ditching a store-bought sauce. I have no qualms about store-bought pasta sauce, but mastering pasta where an essential ingredient isn’t something you have used your hands in cooking seems like a cheat. The second way is by championing a single element by using it in three ways. You will quickly realize how much I don’t follow the rules set by myself. 

The whole recipe comes together in a single pan. It begins with you cooking off the chicken in a semi-dry marinade of spices and oil that gets cooked off in a pan. Once browned on both sides, we wipe the pan off and begin to build the pasta sauce. The sauce is what gives the dish its name because we use three types of tomatoes throughout the process. We begin by cooking some fresh diced tomatoes with classic aromatics like garlic and onion. This adds a level of freshness to the meal. To add depth to the sauce, we use some store-bought tomato puree (note how I’m infringing on my own rules). This is still pretty plebeian but the next format of the tomato takes it to the gourmand level– sundried tomato. Another store-bought element, the canned oil-brined tomatoes add a sweet taste while introducing another texture to the sauce that works in tandem with the chicken to give a fuller mouthfeel. Tomatoes are fascinating and this recipe is an exploration of all the ways that we enjoy them all in every bite!

Glimpses from the week

Ingredients

For the chicken Marinade

450 grams of skinless boneless chicken thighs

2 teaspoons of garlic powder

1 teaspoon  of onion powder

2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon red chili powder

1 tablespoon of olive oil

2 teaspoons of salt

For the pasta sauce

200 grams of penne pasta, cooked according to the package instructions

1 teaspoon of olive oil

1 medium red onion, diced

4-5 cloves of garlic, minced

½  teaspoon paprika

2-3 medium tomatoes, diced

½   cup of tomato puree

4-5 sundried tomatoes, sliced thin lengthwise

½  cup of hung yogurt (you can use fresh cream for a richer texture)

A handful of baby spinach 

Salt and pepper to taste  

Fresh parsley for decoration (optional)

Preparation

1. Start by taking your chicken and sprinkling liberally with salt on both sides. Leave it in the fridge for 10 minutes and then pat dry with a kitchen towel or tissue paper. This helps remove some water from the skin of the chicken making it crispier.

2. In a bowl, add the chicken along with all the marinade spices mentioned above and ½ tablespoon of olive oil. Mix well with a spoon or with your hand. Keep in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

3. While the chicken rests, get water up to a boil in a saucepan and cook the pasta based on the package instructions. Keep some of the pasta water in a cup to add to the sauce if needed.

4. In a skillet on medium heat, add ½ tablespoon of oil. Once it comes to temperature, add chicken in batches of 2-3 skin side down. Cook off for 4 minutes on each side and take off the heat. Let it cool down for about 10 minutes and then slice it thin.

5. Wipe the same pan clean with a paper towel and add bring it back to medium heat. Add a teaspoon of olive oil and add garlic and onions. Cook off until the smell of the garlic wafts away and the onions turn translucent.

6. Add the diced tomatoes and let them breakdown, for about 2 minutes. Add the paprika powder along with the sundried tomatoes. Cook them off for a minute and then add the tomato puree. Let the puree turn darker and thicker – about a minute.

7. Reduce the temperature to a low heat and add the yogurt and spinach. Mix well and let the spinach wilt. Add pasta and chicken and cook off for another minute. Serve hot and enjoy!