Scorched tomatoes and peppers mixed into a creamy-tomato sauce with tagliatelle and chicken. This Tagliatelle with Scorched Veg and Roast Chicken is a delicious dinner for less than 470 calories (2.25 syns on Slimming World extra easy if you remove the chicken skin).
I make pasta meals at least a couple of times a week. Good old spag bol appears on the menu most weeks, and then there's usually some kind of variation with salmon or chicken. I like to throw in whatever I've got lying around at the time - maybe some chorizo, or crispy bacon. Sometimes cream or chillies.
I'm slightly constrained at the moment since I'm trying to lose a few pounds, so I've been looking at other ways of getting in a flavour punch without going over-the-top on the naughty additions.
Cue the scorched vegetables!
Initially I was just going to add some scorched peppers, but then I noticed we had quite an abundance of cherry tomatoes in the fridge. I considered roasting them in the oven, but really couldn't be bothered to wait the hour or more it'd take to cook them
I'm not a fan of regular grilled tomatoes (does anyone else think they just end up tasting like warm mush? eugh).
So I sprinkled on some garlic salt, a little salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar before grilling them. Soooo much better than your average grilled tomato!
It worked out great as a Slimming World meal for me and Chris, and the kids loved it too. Oh by the way, I lost 2lbs this week yay! Got my half stone award sticker!! It's ridiculous how excited I got over a sticker. It's like I'm 5 all over again.
Considering I went out for my brother-in-laws birthday meal and went to a wedding last week I can't believe I lost anything!
Apart from those slight diversions from the plan, I've been doing pretty well. I am really missing cake though.
and big thick slices of soft white bread with butter on.
and Krispy Kreme donuts.
and not eating all the garlic bread in this picture (I had a slice as part of my 'syn' allowance, but could probably have eaten 5 more if pushed...)
I've got to face facts that I'm never going to be lithe and athletic, but at least with meals like this I can thoroughly enjoy my dinner and get into my skinny jeans 🙂
Try serving this with my homemade pasta, its delicious and easier to make than you might think!
The Tagliatelle with Scorched Veg and Roast Chicken Recipe:
Tagliatelle with Scorched Veg and Roast Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 red pepper
- 1 yellow pepper
- 10 cherry tomatoes
- large pinch garlic salt
- large pinch salt and pepper
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 300 g dried tagliatelle - gluten free if required
- 5 sprays frylight or other 1-cal-per-spray oil
- 1 medium sized onion - peeled and chopped
- 1 tsp light brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic - peeled and crushed
- 1 tbsp tomato puree/paste - usually gluten free, but best to check if required
- 1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
- 1 tsp worcestershire sauce - Lea and Perrins is gluten free
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 cooked chicken breasts* - chopped into large chunks
- 4 tbsp half-fat crème fraiche
To Serve:
- Small bunch flat-leaf parsley - roughly chopped
- Large pinch black pepper
- 2 tbsp grated parmesan
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the red and yellow peppers on a foil lined grill pan. Chop the cherry tomatoes in half and place them on the grill pan too. Sprinkle the tomatoes with the garlic salt, salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Place under a hot grill until the tomatoes start to black a little on top. Then remove the tomatoes and continue to cook the peppers, turning every couple of minutes until the skin is blackened all over (takes about 15 minutes). Remove the peppers and wrap in foil. This will help in removing the skin when they've cooled a little.
- Place the tagliatelle in a large pan of boiling water and cook as per pack instructions (usually 12 minutes or so).
- Whilst the pasta is cooking, heat a large frying pan and spray with fry light. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes until they start to soften. Add the brown sugar and garlic and cook, whilst stirring for another minute. Add in the tomato puree, chopped tomatoes, worcestershire sauce and oregano. Stir and bring to a gentle bubble, then allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Take off the heat and give the sauce a couple of bursts with a hand blender (this is optional).
- Take the peppers out of the foil and peel the skins off, then chop into thin slices (discard the seeds). Place the chopped peppers, cherry tomatoes and cooked chicken into the pan with the onions and canned tomatoes to heat through.
- By this time the tagliatelle should be ready. Drain the tagliatelle, reserving a few tbsp of the cooking water.
- Stir the creme fraiche into the tomato sauce, then stir in the pasta and the pasta water. Top with the a sprinkle of parsley, black pepper and grated parmesan.
- Split between four bowls and serve.
✎ Notes
Nutrition
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p style="text-align: center;">Nutritional Information from Calorie Count per serving (Recipe makes 4 servings)
SC says
Great family midweek dinner, great tip about scorching the veg.
Amy says
This is absolutely gorgeous Nicky! And congratulations on your achievements this week. It's so hard to keep fit when you are surrounded by tempting dishes all day!
Your photography here is stunning. Chris and I will be enjoying this dish very soon (sans chicken and garlic bread for me, but I bet it's still super delish!).
Nicky Corbishley says
Thanks Amy, it means a lot. I'm really struggling this week - desperately craving a large slice of cake 🙂 I'm starting to notice the results though, so it's helping me through 🙂