Cafe Lula

A few days ago I saw this recipe and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. I’ll admit, I’ve never actually heard of chicken spaghetti and I have no idea what Velveeta is, but cheese, chicken and mushrooms sounds good to me.

The recipe reminded me of a recipe I’d made from Jamie’s Italy a couple of years ago, so I took the bits I liked from that (double cream!) and cheesed it up a lot. It was good.

Cheesy chicken and mushroom spaghetti

Inspired by Bev Cooks with some help from Jamie’s Italy

Serves 2

Ingredients:

olive oil

2 shallots

3 slices jalapeno, chopped (or use fresh chilli)

2 garlic cloves

2 chicken breasts, cut into chunks

175g mushrooms, sliced

80ml white wine

100g double cream

100g half-fat creme fraiche

15g parmesan, grated plus extra to serve

30g cheddar, grated plus extra to serve

a pinch of oregano

salt and black pepper, to season

a few fresh basil leaves

200g spaghetti

In a large pan or wok, fry the shallots over a medium-high heat in a little olive oil until softened. Add the chicken and jalapenos and fry until the chicken is mostly white. Add the mushrooms and jalapenos or chilli and fry until the mushrooms have started to soften and the chicken is cooked. Add the wine, cooking for a few minutes to reduce, then add the double cream and creme fraiche. Cook over a low heat while you cook the pasta. Add the parmesan and cheddar once the cream is heated through and stir to melt. Season with the oregano, salt, black pepper and basil and serve with the spaghetti. Grate over some parmesan and top with slices of cheddar. Cheesylicious.