Caribbean Chicken Pasta
Growing up I never really looked at food as anything more than just breakfast, lunch and dinner. Just an essential part of the daily routine, nothing exciting. I had no interest in learning to cook, or making anything beyond mac-n-cheese or ramen noodles. Food was food, something that you had to have in order to survive. The only time I really looked forward to meals was when I was hungry, and I didn’t have much concern for what that meal would be. In fact, I can’t really recall the moment that my mind even changed on the matter. I just know that now, the kitchen is my happy place, my temple, my little bit of peace. The more detailed a meal is, the more challenging it is to create, the happier I am. It’s a chaotic orchestra of pots and pans, knives and flames…..and I am the conductor.
Cooking at the firehouse is probably the best for me. I’m going to get true reviews on the food, good or bad. Personal feelings are out the window when it comes to firehouse food. But that’s the best part for me, because I’m overly critical of my own cooking so I need some honest reviews. The other benefit to the firehouse is that there’s no shortage of cooks. I volunteer to cook every shift, and for the most part they let me, but it is nice to sit back and watch someone else do the job.
This particular dish came to fruition after my partner reminded me of my Jerk Chicken Tacos, and how he wouldn’t mind having them again (hint, hint). Normally I would oblige, but I just wasn’t feeling tacos for once. Wandering around I began to daydream about jerk chicken, the Caribbean sea, our wonderful honeymoon on the beaches of St Lucia and all the incredible food we had. When I came back to reality I was in the pasta aisle, and it hit me...Caribbean Chicken Pasta. A little tinkering and creativity took place in my mind as I decided how to make a dish that would bring out the flavors of the Caribbean mixed with an everyday favorite. So it began…
2 lbs of Chicken Breast
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 bunch of Green Onions
1 Yellow Onion
3 Cloves of Garlic
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 cup Chicken Broth
½ cup Jerk Marinade (shout out to Captain Curtis)
1 lb of Pasta noodles of your choice
½ cup grated parmesan
It’s a pretty easy recipe as long as you can keep track of time.
Boil water and start cooking your pasta, stopping right at al-dente and hitting them with a cold rinse. They can finish cooking later.
Heat some oil in a large pan, drop in the chickens, and season lightly with half of the marinade. Roughly 7 minutes per side for the chickens. Remove from the pan till later.
Heat a bit more oil, throw in the bell peppers for 2 minutes, add the yellow onions and cook for another 5.
Turn down the heat, add the green onion and garlic, 2 minutes.
Pour in the broth, remaining marinade, and cream. STIR IT UP
Season with salt and pepper, mix in grated parmesan cheese.
Let it simmer for 5 minutes to thicken up. Use this time to slice up those chickens and ask google to play Toots & The Maytals.
Add the pasta and chicken slices, stir and serve topped with more green onions.
Take your obligatory proud chef photos and dig in!
I was blown away by the flavor this created and so was my crew. It was immediately placed on the “make it again” list. The jerk marinade is definitely what makes this dish, so act accordingly. If you like sweet, I advise you to find a papaya base marinade. Like it spicy? A traditional pepper-heavy jerk sauce may be right for you. Captain Curtis is a local producer that makes incredible BBQ sauces and his Jerk marinade is my current favorite. This dish is simple, only takes about 30 minutes from top to bottom and will be in my monthly rotation at the firehouse.
