Smoked chicken, runner beans, spinach and pesto pasta

Show ingredients

Meat mains

Smoked chicken, runner beans, spinach and pesto pasta

Main Serves 4 20 min
A speedy weekday dinner: nutty spelt pasta with wilted spinach, runner beans and smoky chicken, all tossed in a succulent dressing of pesto and Parmesan. The beans and spinach can be replaced with any other greens you have in your veg box – just adjust the cooking time accordingly. For a pescatarian version, substitute the chicken with smoked mackerel or trout.

Ingredients

  • 300g spelt pasta
  • 200g runner beans, de-stringed with a peeler and cut at an angle into diamonds
  • 100g spinach leaves, washed and chopped
  • 2 smoked chicken breasts, sliced into batons
  • 3 tbsp pesto
  • large handful Parmesan, grated, to serve

Method

Prep time: 5 min
Cooking time: 15 min

  • Step 1

    Bring a large pan of well salted water to the boil. Add the pasta, give it a stir and cook for 4 minutes. Add the beans, bring back to the boil and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the spinach, cook for another minute and drain, keeping a little of the cooking liquid.

  • Step 2

    Place the saucepan on a low heat and add a good glug of olive oil. Add the chicken, stir for a couple of minutes and add the pasta, veg and pesto. Keep stirring gently until everything is mixed together and back up to temperature. Serve with the Parmesan.

You may also like…