Menu
Author:
Franco Salzillo
Inspired in the Caribbean colors and flavors, but still very much an Italian pasta, the Rasta Pasta is a fun and vibrant laid-back dish you can enjoy on any weeknight. Still, it can also be the star of the night when having guests coming over for a dinner party.
It comes without saying Rasta Pasta is quite popular with the kids. All the colors and the mild spiciness make it anything but a dull pasta dish.The secret behind Rasta Pasta is using a wide variety of bell peppers, the more colors used, the better. The real flavor, though, comes from onions and garlic, olive oil and parmesan cheese. Everything comes together with a hefty addition of heavy cream that gives the dish weight and consistency.
You’ll need a fun-shaped pasta. Rigatoni, fusilli, riccioli, ziti, manicotti, there are endless alternatives. You want a spiral or tube-shaped pasta, though, so that the creamy sauce sticks.
You’ll need red, green and yellow bell peppers. Did you know all three are the same veggie in different ripening stages? If you don’t find one of them for some reason, don’t worry, but those are the Rastafari colors, so it makes sense to try to use them all.
You’ll also need chicken breasts and a few regular pasta ingredients. If you cook Italian regularly, you know what I mean — heavy cream, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, onions, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Trust me, this dish looks incredibly complicated, but it’s super easy to put together.
Mince the garlic, dice the onion, and slice the bell peppers. Reserve.
Cut the chicken into strips and toss with jerk seasoning in a mixing bowl until fully coated.
In a thick-bottomed skillet, drizzle two tablespoons of olive oil and add the chicken. Flip occasionally until cooked through and golden. Remove the chicken from the skillet and reserve.
In the same skillet, add one more tablespoon of oil and the garlic, onion and bell peppers until the onions are translucent, the garlic golden, and the bell peppers roasted.
Add the chicken back in and reduce the heat to medium. Pour in the cream and incorporate everything. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the pasta into a pot of boiling water until cooked. Drain and return to the pot.
Pour the chicken and creamy veggie sauce over the pasta and combine without breaking the pasta.
