Name: Creamy spinach, basil & chicken pasta
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 300g long pasta (we used mafaldine); 2 tbsp leftover chicken fat (from the roast chicken recipe, below); 1 onion finely chopped; 1 red chilli finely chopped, or 1 tsp chilli flakes; 4 leftover roasted garlic cloves mashed; 2 tbsp tomato purée; 200ml white wine; 300g spinach; 200g-300g leftover chicken shredded (from the roast chicken recipe, below); ½ lemon juiced; small handful of basil leaves chopped into fine ribbons; 200g crème fraîche

Creamy spinach, basil & chicken pasta

Roast a chicken, then transform it into this speedy weeknight pasta dish with the help of spinach, basil, garlic and crème fraîche

40 min total 15 min prep 25 min cook 4 721 cal

Instructions

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1 Cook the pasta following pack instructions and reserve a mugful of the cooking water. Heat the leftover chicken fat in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Stir in the onion and cook for 8-10 mins until softened. Mix in the chilli, garlic and tomato purée, then cook for a further 5 mins until the purée has caramelised. Pour in the wine and simmer for 2-3 mins until almost completely reduced.
2 Mix in the spinach and leftover chicken along with a splash of the reserved cooking water. Cook for 3-4 mins until the chicken is heated through, then squeeze in some lemon juice, and add most of the basil, the crème fraîche and cooked pasta. Mix in a splash of cooking liquid to bring it all together, then season to taste, adding more lemon juice if needed. Scatter over the remaining basil to serve.