Macaroni Pasta Bake
And easy to make Macaroni Pasta Bake with a flavorful tomatoe sauce and bell peppers, cream and cheese.
Servings :6 people
Ingredients
- 300 grams macaroni, penne, fusilli etc. (any)
Chicken & Bacon
- 250 grams diced bacon
- 2 chicken breasts, skinless
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chicken spice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
For the Sauce
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter, unsalted
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup chicken stock, vegetable or water
- 1 bell pepper, diced
- 400 grams canned tomatoes, whole or chopped
- 1 cup coconut cream
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 cups freshly grated mozzarella, cheddar etc.
- chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190°C/374°F.
- Fry the bacon: In a large skillet heat one tablespoon of olive oil and fry the bacon. Set aside.
- (Same pan) Prep and sear the chicken: Pat the chicken breasts dry using kitchen paper or towel and season with salt, pepper and chicken spice on both sides. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and cook the chicken breasts on medium-high heat for 4 minutes per side or until a nice golden brown. If your chicken breasts are too thick, consider using a mallet to pound just the thick ends down so that they can cook evenly. Remove and set aside on a plate. Don't wash the skillet!
- Cook the pasta: Bring a pot filled with water to the boil. Once boiling, add a tablespoon of salt and cook the pasta until about one minute before al dente. Drain and pour the pasta back into the pot. Add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, mix and set aside.
- Make the sauce: In the same pan that cooked the bacon and chicken, add the onion to cook in the remaining oil from the chicken. Drain a little oil out if it's more than 2 tablespoons. Add a tablespoon of unsalted butter and a pinch of salt and cook on medium high heat for 4- 5 minutes or until shimmering and soft. The onions will turn a light brown color, this is from the chicken pan juices, which is great flavor. Now add the stock to deglaze the pan. Add the chopped bell pepper, canned tomatoes and water. Use a masher to break up the tomatoes in the pan if using whole tomatoes while it cooks for about 2-3 minutes then add the coconut cream and combine.
- Combine: Slice the cooked chicken breasts into cubes and dice the bacon if not already diced and add all the meat into the sauce. Now pour any resting meat juices into the sauce. Add the cooked pasta, combine everything and pour it all into an oven dish - 9 x 11inch (about 32cm).
- Bake: Top the pasta off with grated mozzarella and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top is golden and bubbly. Garnish with fresh parsley and allow 5 minutes to cool before serving.
Notes
You can substitute the chicken with steak cubes or braised beef mince.
Reserve a cup of pasta water incase you need more saucy liquid. If iou forget, simply add regular water.
For the tomato sauce, you can also use store bought or homemade.
Feel free to stop the bell peppers with another veg like Zucchini or leave them out entirely if you don't like veggies. They do add a beautiful light sweetness and color to the sauce however.
If you can't find thick whipping cream, use 1/2 cup regular cream.
If you decide to use coconut milk instead of cream then use this thick whipping cream to help getting a thick rich cream. Coconut milk alone won't give you the richness.
Nutrition
Serving: 1personCalories: 892kcalCarbohydrates: 65gProtein: 49gFat: 50gSaturated Fat: 22gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gMonounsaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 83mgSodium: 1395mgPotassium: 952mgFiber: 10gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 3318IUVitamin C: 39mgCalcium: 294mgIron: 4mg
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