Cajun Chicken Pasta

Do me a favor, OK? Promise me you will make this as soon as possible! It is THAT good!! The flavors are bright and perfect. It's spicy, but not too spicy. It makes enough to serve a small army, so invite some friends! Kyle and I have a love affair with NOLA and with Cajun/Creole cooking... yum!  I don't remember where I found this recipe, but I've made some changes to the original. It uses Emeril's Essence so it may have been an Emeril recipe that I started out with. All I know is it's AWESOME!

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Ingredients:

1 lb linguine
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast; cut into bitesized pieces
2 Tbsp Emeril's Essence (recipe below)
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup sweet yellow onion, finely chopped
1 cup poblano pepper, finely chopped
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup reserved pasta water
1/2 cup green onion tops, sliced
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

Cook linguine according to directions on package. Save 1/2 cup of the pasta water after the pasta has been fully cooked. Drain pasta after it's cooked and set aside.

Season the bitesized chicken with 1 Tbsp Essence and 1/2 tsp kosher salt.



In a large chicken fryer style pan, heat butter and olive oil over medium-high heat. Once the butter melts, place the chicken in the pan. Cook the chicken until golden and cooked through.



Remove chicken from the pan and set aside. Place onions and poblano pepper in the pan and saute until the onions are softened and lightly caramelized, you may need to add about 1 tsp olive oil to prevent burning.



After the onions are tender, add the garlic to the pan and saute about 30 seconds.



Stir in cream, the other 1 Tbsp of Essence, 1 tsp kosher salt and the chicken. Bring to a boil.



Gently boil until the cream has reduced by half. Mix in the tomatoes and linguine. Add the reserved cooking water to the pan and toss to incorporate, cook another 3-5 minutes.



Remove pan from heat, stir in green onion tops and Parmesan cheese, toss. Serve Immediately!



You can buy Emeril's Essence in the grocery store, but you probably have everything you need to make it right in your spice cabinet. Here is a recipe we found:

Emeril's Essence Seasoning Mix Ingredients:

2 1/2 Tbsp paprika
2 Tbsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp black pepper
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp dried thyme

Combine all spices and mix thoroughly. Store in an airtight container or empty spice jar. This recipe makes about 3/4 cup so you need to have ample storage space since you only need 2 Tbsp for the recipe above. You could easily half or quarter this recipe as well. We use it, so we make it all!

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