Cajun Chicken Fettucine

This innocent-looking bowl of chicken and pasta:



... packed a real whallop! I think SP's brow is still beaded with sweat.

My buddy D recently made a recipe for Cajun Chicken Fettucine that sounded tasty. What made the recipe even more appealing was that I could prep all the ingredients ahead of time. I prepped everything on Saturday so that when I got home from work today all I needed to do was throw on my apron and start cooking. I was looking forward to tonight's dinner all day.

Where things went awry was the part in the recipe that called for Cajun seasoning. I have a very large selection of spices, so I looked up Cajun seasoning online so I could make my own at home. I mixed all the different spices together and cooked a test piece of chicken in order to make sure the seasoning was right. The test piece had a kick to it, but I failed to realize that 30-plus pieces of chicken with that seasoning would pack more of a punch than one. The resulting dish was really good but way, way, way too spicy, even for us. Between gulps of water SP asked me to please cut down on the cayenne next time.

It was still a keeper, though. Thanks for sharing, D!

Cajun Chicken Fettucine

1 pound spaghetti
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning (my recipe follows)
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 package mushrooms, cut into chunks
5 scallions, sliced
1 green bell pepper cut into strips
6 cloves minced garlic
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 - 1 cup pasta cooking water

Cook fettucine according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking water.

Meanwhile, sprinkle chicken with seasoning. In a large skillet, heat the oil and cook the chicken over medium heat until no longer pink. Remove with a slotted spoon. Add the mushrooms, scallions, green pepper and garlic and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.

Combine cornstarch and heavy cream until smooth and stir into vegetable mixture. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute, until thickened. Add the chicken back to the pan, then add the fettucine, tossing to combine. Add pasta cooking water to thin out sauce, if necessary.

Cajun Seasoning

1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried basil

Stir to combine the spices together.