Description
Seasoned chicken with bow tie pasta in a creamy Cajun sauce. Loaded with vegetables makes this a one-dish meal. A great dish for a crowd.
Ingredients
Scale
- 10 ounces (uncooked) farfalle (bow-tie) pasta
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
- 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 carrots, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
- 8–10 white button mushrooms, sliced (about 4 ounces)
- 1 medium zucchini, sliced (about 1 cup)
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced, (about 1 cup)
- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced, (about 1 cup)
- 1 small clump broccoli head, separated into bite-size pieces (about 1 cup)
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 (14 ounce) can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese, grated
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
- basil leaves to garnish
Instructions
- In a large sauce pan bring 4- 6 quarts of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook to al dente according to the package directions.
- Meanwhile in a large saute pan, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
- Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Season chicken with 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning and a generous pinch of kosher salt and pepper.
- Cook the chicken pieces until golden brown on all sides and almost cooked through about 7-10 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- In the same large saute pan, add the sliced carrots, mushrooms, zucchini, red bell pepper, red onion, broccoli florets and minced garlic until the vegetables are beginning to become tender. Remove the vegetables from the pan and set aside.
- Drain the pasta and reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Place pasta in a bowl large enough to toss all the ingredients together.
- In the now empty saute pan, melt the butter until bubbly, then whisk in the flour. Cook for 2 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste.
- Whisk in the heavy cream and cook until thickened. Then stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning.
- Reduce the heat and add Parmesan cheese. Whisk until fully incorporated and creamy. If the sauce is too thick, add enough reserved pasta water to loosen it to a pouring consistency. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the creamy Cajun sauce to the pasta.
- Stir in the chicken pieces, cooked vegetables, and drained can of fire-roasted tomatoes and gently stir to fully combine all the ingredients.
- Taste and add a sprinkle of Cajun seasoning if desired.
- Garnish with basil leaves cut into chiffonade (see this post for instructions on how to chiffonade basil.)
- Serve warm.
Notes
Switch out other vegetables as desired.
This recipe can easily be doubled.
