Mediterranean Chorizo and Chicken Tagliatelle Bake

I even made this in advance of a walking weekend in Malham for my 50th birthday celebrations. Great how food brings back great memories. We popped it in to the bunk barn oven for the hour and sat and chatted before sitting round the large table enjoying this hearty feast. Although I love cooking it was wonderful enjoying the company rather than cooking at the stove.

Serves 4 good eaters!

20 minutes preparing (longer if making the sauces from scratch)

45 minutes to 1 hour to cook at 200’c (center should be 75’C)

Note: I make my tomato sauce (full of the hidden vegetables) in advance in a large quantity then split it in to tubs and freeze. The white sauce can be done similarly.

Ingredients.

2 to 3 Free Range Chicken Breasts (500g)

1 chorizo sausage (I used Aldi they have spicy and mild!)

500g Fresh Tagliatelle (I used Aldi next to the pizzas in the chilled section)

750 ml  Fun Food Chef Tomato sauce  (Fresh best but for convenience a couple of 500 g jars would be fine )

500 to 600 ml of White sauce (Again I like to make mine but a jar could also be used about 1 1/2 jars)

As much as you want of Seasoned Pioneers Pimenton Dulce but I would use at least 2 teaspoons (Smoked paprika) ( https://www.seasonedpioneers.com/ )

2 x 210 g of Fresh Mozzarella (you may not quite need it all) 250g drained weight

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Method.

Fill a pan with boiling water and add a little salt for the tagliatelle. Add the fresh tagliatelle and bring back to the boil. This only takes a minute or so, don’t let it overcook. After a minute remove drain in a colander and run cold water over it to stop it cooking any further. Remember once you have made our bake it is going to fully cook in the oven.

Cut the chicken breast in to thin strips and place in a bowl. Sprinkle with plenty of your Seasoned Pioneers  Pimenton Dulce ( https://www.seasonedpioneers.com/ )

Sprinkle also with freshly ground black pepper and a little sea salt.

In a frying pan add a little oil and heat. You must get the pan really hot before adding your seasoned chicken. Cook until nicely browned. The chicken does not need to be fully cooked as again it is going to be baked in the oven but should be browned.

Slice the Chorizo into 4mm rings

In an oven tray or earthenware dish put a 1/2 of your tomato sauce, add a layer of tagliatelle, add the chicken and chorizo add the remaining tomato sauce and another layer of tagliatelle.

Top with the white sauce then pieces of fresh mozzarella and grind some fresh black pepper on the top.

This can be refrigerated for a day until you’re ready to pop it in to your oven or you can simply put it straight in at 200’c for an hour (until it is 75’c at its core). If it starts to over brown place a piece of tin foil loosely on the top of it.

Great dish after swimming, football or hockey training, a lovely warming hearty dish.

Note: If you wanted you could add some chopped onions, mushrooms, red peppers etc. when you are cooking the chicken for a little extra bite.