This week´s Fork it in Friday meal is a simple, quick pasta dinner designed by Daisy Martinez and featured in Everyday with Rachael Ray. Puerto Rican Spaghetti with Chicken is a tasty dinner that boasts strong bold fresh veggie flavors. I substituted fresh button mushrooms for the chicken, as Husband and I both adore fungi, but the base of the sauce is what really makes this dish work. I highly recommend trying it soon. The ingredients are all wallet-friendly and the dish itself is all-around family friendly as well. As Martinez quips in the magazine clip, “It´s a recipe for feeding the troops… doubling the batch is easy enough.” Yum! I can´t wait to make this again.
Puerto Rican Spaghetti with Chicken
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
8 large chicken drumsticks and thighs (about 2 3/4 pounds) We used about 2 c. fresh buttom mushrooms
Salt and black pepper
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 spanish onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 pound spaghetti
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Season the chicken with salt and black pepper and add to the skillet. Cook until golden on both sides, about 10 minutes; transfer to a plate.
- Pour out all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the skillet and add the bell pepper, onion and garlic; cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, then add the crushed tomatoes, bay leaves and crushed red pepper. Add the chicken and any juices; lower the heat, cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and stir in the cilantro; season with salt and black pepper.
- Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the spaghetti until al dente; drain. Top with the chicken and sauce.
Sounds delicious. I love Daisy recipes.
This sounds amazing – I may use the chicken AND mushrooms!