Cajun chicken rigatoni with roasted red pepper sauce

Read the full method and weigh the listed ingredients. Prepare the meat and vegetables as described in the ingredient list, keeping sauce, starch, garnish and working ingredients separate. Clean hands, boards and utensils after handling raw meat.

Heat the oven to 200°C fan / 220°C conventional.

Allow about 15 minutes in total, checking the oven has reached its setting.

Halve peppers, remove seeds and arrange cut-side down on a roasting tray.

Check the oven setting and carefully put the prepared dish into the hot oven.

Roast for 25–30 minutes until softened and blistered.

Check the stated readiness cue using a probe for cooked meat where specified. Carefully take the dish out and set it on a heatproof surface.

Transfer to a heatproof bowl and cover.

Leave covered for 10 minutes so the skins loosen.

Peel peppers and blend their flesh with the listed sauce stock until smooth.

Coat chicken in its oil, paprika, oregano, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne and salt.

Pat chicken dry and season with the listed seasoning. Brown in uncrowded loads in a heavy pan with the listed oil, turning to colour the surfaces. Transfer to a clean plate; it will finish cooking later.

Lower the heat, add sauce oil and soften onion for 8 minutes.

Stir in garlic for 1 minute.

Add pepper puree and return chicken.

Simmer gently for 12–15 minutes until the meat reaches 75°C for 30 seconds.

Stir, check the base is not catching and adjust the heat. Add the listed top-up water if needed.

Continue at a gentle simmer until the stated readiness cue is reached.

Stir, check the base is not catching and adjust the heat. Add the listed top-up water if needed.

Continue at a gentle simmer until the stated readiness cue is reached.

Stir in cream and spinach and cook for 2 minutes until wilted. Finish with sherry vinegar and taste for seasoning.

Put the listed pasta cooking water and cooking salt in a large saucepan and start heating.

Allow the water to reach a full boil; the timer assumes a covered pan and a strong hob.

Add rigatoni to the boiling water and stir to separate. Follow its packet for the final cooking time.

Cook until just short of the packet’s al dente time; this timer is an estimate for dried pasta. Fresh pasta cooks faster.

Stir briefly, taste for doneness and extend if needed.

Reserve some starchy cooking water, then drain the pasta.

Toss drained pasta into the finished sauce over medium heat for 1–2 minutes, adding reserved pasta water gradually until coated.

Take off the heat and fold in Parmesan. Serve in warm bowls with parsley and black pepper.