Chicken Puttanesca

This is a lightened up version of Puttanesca and according to The Times is only 247 calories per serving without the pasta. I made a few changes, I used a tin of chopped tomatoes rather than fresh cherry tomatoes and I only had black olives but mixed would be nice. It was a delicious meal, the lovely saltiness of the anchovies, olives and capers was a lovely contrast with the tomatoes and chicken.

Chicken Puttanesca (adapted from The Times)
(Serves 6)

1 tbsp olive oil
20 anchovy fillets, drained
4 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
1 400g can chopped tomatoes
3 tbsp mixed olives, stoned
2 tbsp capers
12 chicken thighs, boned and skinned
450g tagliatelle
bunch of fresh basil, stems removed
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 180C.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based casserole dish. Add the anchovies and garlic and fry gently for 2-3 minutes, until the anchovies have melted but the garlic has not browned.

Stir in the tomatoes, olives and capers, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Add the chicken thighs and stir well to combine. Place a lid on the casserole and put on the middle shelf in the oven. Cook for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven; give the chicken a good stir so that it’s well coated in the puttanesca sauce. Return to the oven, without the lid, and cook for a further 20 minutes.

Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the tagliatelle according to packet instructions.

Remove the puttanesca from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before stirring in the basil leaves. Season and serve over the pasta.