The other night I had a craving for some chicken and pasta so I roasted some Cajun spiced chicken breasts in the oven and served up a creamy, velvety rigatoni on the side.

There’s no getting around it, this is the perfect way to cook chicken breast; it might be a bit easier to slice up the chicken and toss it around a pan but let me just say, if you haven’t tried roasting the whole breast in the oven you really need to give it a go.  It turns out deliciously tender as long as you use a decent amount of oil and don’t leave it in for too long.

Recipe:

500g chicken breasts, skinned and boned
Cajun spice mix
Grapeseed or olive oil
400g rigatoni
200g creme fraiche or sour cream
50g grated Parmesan cheese
A good handful spring onions, fresh basil and continental parsley, chopped roughly
Zest from one lemon
Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt

Cajun spice mix:

2 tspns freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tspn sea salt
1/2 tspn chilli flakes
1/4 tspn cayenne pepper
1 tspn sweet paprika
1/4 tspn onion powder
1/4 tspn garlic powder
1/2 tspn dried oregano leaves
1/4 tspn dried thyme leaves

Preheat oven to 220 degrees C.

Combine Cajun seasoning ingredients in a small bowl.  I often make more than I need and store it in a zip lock sandwich bag in the cupboard with the other spices until I use it again.  You could also experiment with your own measurements according to your own taste.

Trim chicken breasts of fat.  Rub over a generous amount of grapeseed oil and sprinkle with Cajun seasoning on both sides.  If you have time, store covered in the fridge for a couple of hours to marinate.

Place whole chicken breasts on a baking dish lined with baking paper.  Roast for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked inside and slightly browned outside (this will depend on your oven).  Be careful not to overcook. You could always use a meat thermometer if you prefer.

Cook pasta until al dente in boiling, salted water (usually takes between 10-12 minutes).  Once pasta has cooked, drain, reserving 1/4 cup of pasta water.  Place back in saucepan and add creme fraiche, cheese, herbs, seasoning and lemon zest – if it needs a bit more moisture or you’re still waiting for the chicken, add a splash of pasta water to moisten it.  Continue to heat on a low temperature until hot.

Remove chicken breasts from the oven.  Allow to rest on clean plate covered with foil for 5 minutes.  Slice using tongs and a sharp knife and place on top of pasta to serve.

Serves: 4