CRISPY CHICKEN AND SPINACH FUSILLI

This recipe was totally made up by a huge craving I had one night for a giant bowl of pasta and some kind of crispy meat and cheese. It’s an adaptation of Jamie Oliver’s sausage fusilli recipe, but since I didn’t have English sausages and I don’t take any form of alcohol and I love my veggies, here’s an improvisation. The chicken bits are nice and crunchy especially if you chop them up small enough, but not too fine that they resemble minced chicken. The trick is to also really use the pasta water to get silky, shiny pasta.

It’s one of my favourite weekday dinner options, as it’s protein and veg all in one pan. One of those key occasions where the stars align and you can be lazy AND still make/eat awesome food!

This recipe serves one.

What you need:
Fusilli pasta
100 gm of chicken fillet, roughly chopped
1 tsp ground aniseed
1 tsp chili flakes
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp oregano flakes
1 handful spinach
Juice from ½ lemon
Parmesan, amount according to preference

What you do:

1. Cook pasta according to packet instructions.
2. Heat 2 tbsp. olive oil in pan.
3. Add chopped chicken, spread evenly so that they cook evenly. Add salt.
4. Move the chicken around until they’re slightly brown and crispy.
5. Add oregano, ground aniseed and chili flakes. Increase chili flakes if you like it spicier.
6. After 2 minutes, add balsamic vinegar. Make sure chicken bits are covered nicely by the caramelised balsamic.
7. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.
8. Add pasta to pan, stir the mix and add water to ensure a silky and shiny consistency.
9. Add spinach and lemon juice. Stir until spinach is wilted. Taste to see if you need more salt/pepper.
10. Remove to plate. Rain the freshly grated parmesan all over. If you just came back from the gym, add more cheese.
11. Devour.