Supper Club: Chicken and chorizo pasta bake

Ireland has a love affair with chicken. Chicken is a quick and easy protein choice, but make sure it doesn’t take over from other protein options. Although chicken is often looked at as a cheap option, as with everything in life, you get what you pay for. When possible, choose local, outdoor-reared/free-range chicken for the best quality. A great family favourite!

Chicken and chorizo pasta bake
Serves 4

Ingredients

• 200g wholewheat penne pasta
  
• 1 courgette, chopped
  
• 1 green pepper, deseeded and chopped
  
• 1 sweet pointer pepper, deseeded and chopped
  
• 350g chicken breast, chopped into 2.5cm pieces
  
• 2 tbsp sundried tomato pesto
  
• 90g sundried tomatoes, chopped
  
• 2 – 400g tins chopped tomatoes
  
• bunch of basil, chopped, or 3 tsp dried basil
  
• 100g chorizo, sliced

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200?C/gas mark 6. Put the penne pasta in a pot with plenty of water and cook for about 10 minutes until slightly underdone.
2. Place all the vegetables in an ovenproof dish. Add the chicken, pesto, sundried tomatoes, chopped tomatoes, basil and chorizo. Stir in the cooked pasta.
3. Cover and place in the oven for 45-60 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
4. Remove the cover and cook for a further 10 minutes for a crispy top.

Extracted from The Plan: Eat Well, Lose Weight, Transform Your Life by Aoife Hearne (Gill Books).

Photography by Joanne Murphy.