Linguine Milanese

Breaded chicken AND pasta combined is a match made in heaven. This pasta sauce is delicious on it’s own without the chicken, as a lovely vegetarian meal in itself, but to beef this up a little breaded chicken adds a really nice touch. The trick is to slow cook the sauce down so it’s thick and coats the pasta and the black olives add a lovely saltiness to the sauce. I didn’t have any fresh basil to hand the day that I took these photos, but I usually sprinkle some fresh basil on top before I serve this up. I shallow fried the chicken for this, but you could definitely use the airfryer too or the oven.

Ingredients

741 calories per serving

For chicken (serves 4)

• 2 large chicken breasts

• 100g plain flour

• 100g panko breadcrumbs

• 2 beaten eggs

• Handful parmesan cheese

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• Salt & Pepper

• olive oil

For Sauce

• 1 onion, thinly sliced

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 15-20 black olives, thinly sliced

• Handful fresh basil, roughly chopped

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 400g tin chopped tomatoes

• 2 tbsp tomato pureé

• 500g dried linguine / spaghetti

Method

1. Heat a skillet over a low heat and add the onion and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir regularly to ensure that onion is not sticking.

2. When onions are soft add the garlic and sliced olives and cook until garlic is fragrant (about 2-3 minutes).

3. Add the tomato pureé, tin tomato and refill the empty tomato tin half way with water & basil. Stir together and bring to a boil and add the basil. Once boiling reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the sauce on a low heat until reduced by half and thicker in consistency (This can usually take between 30-40 minutes).

4. When your sauce is simmering prepare the chicken. Prepare 2 bowls, one with beaten egg and the other with all the other dry ingredients.

5. Slice your chicken breasts lengthways through the middle so that you have 2 pieces of chicken per breast. Sandwich each piece of chicken between 2 slices of greaseproof paper and using a rolling pin (or a wine bottle), beat the chicken so that it is all roughly the same thickness. Repeat until all the chicken is flattened.

6. Heat a few tbsp of olive oil in a skillet until the base is just about covered. Dip each piece of chicken in the egg, then toss into the breadcrumb & flour mix until chicken is covered on both sides. Add to the skillet of oil and shallow fry for about 4 minutes on each side (until golden and crispy). Once cooked, take off the heat and set aside on a plate lined with kitchen paper, to absorb any excess oil. Repeat the process until all chicken is cooked.

7. Get a separate pot with a lot of salted water and bring to the boil. Cook linguine/spaghetti according to packet instructions.

8. When pasta is cooked, add to the skillet with sauce and toss everything together until spaghetti is evenly coated. Slice your chicken into thin strips and lay on top or to the side. I generally serve this with a large helping of parmesan cheese and some fresh torn basil on top.