Would I be right to assume that the mention of Italian food brings pasta and pizza to everyone’s mind? Well, the answer is yes for me and a lot of people I know.
Likewise, if your answer is yes, how about a heartening, quick and easy homemade pasta?
Well, I can have it as an effortless, simple and satisfying weekday dinner as well! And if you are wondering how I fit in a penne arrabbiata with vegetables and chicken for a weeknight supper read on!
Let me tell you what arrabbiata is. Arrabbiata, is a spicy pasta sauce that is primarily made of tomatoes and garlic. While arrabbiata is generally used with penne itself, I use it to make other shaped pastas too. Moreover, you could use this sauce in your next homemade pizza as well 🙂
My arrabbiata sauce recipe is slightly different from the traditional one. Nevertheless, I promise, you will fall in love with it when you make it.
Now, the trick to a quick weeknight pasta dinner is to keep the sauce ready. And by that I don’t mean just before you begin cooking but much ahead! Besides, I have used boiled and shredded chicken for this recipe, which you could also prepare over a weekend and store. Thus, I hope you are already getting a feel of how little time the pasta is going to consume when you decide to make it.
I have used very simple veggies here that don’t require much peeling, cutting or chopping. So, that’s another trick to save time and also include their wholesomeness.
And now its time for this magical penne arrabbiata recipe! Hope you enjoy cooking and devouring it.
Bon apetit!
Also, check out my other Italian recipe the veggie loaded frittata. This is another quick and and yummy weeknight dinner and/or weekend brunch idea for you.
Penne arrabbiata with chicken and vegetables
Ingredients
- 100 g penne pasta
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1/2 cup button mushrooms halved
- 1/2 cup broccoli florets
- 1 cup boiled and shredded chicken thighs
- 2 tbsp garlic chopped
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1/2 cup arrabbiata sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- basil leaves for garnishing
- salt to taste
- chilli flakes to tatse
- dried oregano to taste
Instructions
- Set a pot of water, with two tablespoons of salt, to boil
- Once it comes to a rolling boil, add the pasta and cook until 75% done. Drain under cold water and set aside
- In a pan, add olive oil and saute the garlic until fragrant
- Add the broccoli florets, mushrooms and salt and saute for couple minutes
- Add the cherry tomatoes and the chicken and cook for a minute
- Now add the arrabbiata sauce and give everything a good mix
- Add the boiled penne pasta and give a good stir. Let this cook for a couple minutes
- Now add the shredded mozzarella into this and mix well
- Finally sprinkle some red chilli flakes and dried oregano and mix evenly
- Serve hot with fresh basil leaves on top and garlic bread on the side
Notes
- You could use vegetables of your choice
- Penne pasta can be made the same way without adding any vegetable and/or chicken if you wish
- If you are comfortable, the pasta can be set to boil while you are cooking the vegetables. If so, then once cooked directly add the boiled pasta into the sauce when done
- Draining the pasta under cold water results in it being non-sticky
- g - grams
- tbsp - tablespoons
