Cajun Chicken Pasta

Summer heat. The kind where you walk outside and the air slaps you. I installed three ceiling fans this week and blessed the invention of AC in four different languages (English, French, Cajun French, and the one that's just swearing). DeShawn worked alongside me on a commercial job — a new restaurant on Airline Highway, Korean again, and I'm becoming the go-to electrician for Korean restaurants in Baton Rouge, which is a niche I didn't know existed but which I'm proud to fill.

Colette is at art camp this week — a day camp at LSU, five days, painting and drawing with actual art professors. She comes home smelling like turpentine and talking about "composition" and "negative space" with the authority of a gallery owner. "Papa, your pit has excellent negative space," she told me on Wednesday. I said, "Thank you, cher. It also has excellent ribs on it right now." She rolled her eyes. The eye-roll was inherited from Danielle. It is devastating.

Made a blackened chicken alfredo — blackened chicken breast sliced over fettuccine in a creamy Parmesan sauce. It's a restaurant dish that I've brought home and made mine: the blackening spice is my blend (paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, oregano), the alfredo is from scratch (butter, cream, Parmesan, nothing else — the simplicity is the point), and the combination of the spicy blackened crust with the cool, creamy pasta is the kind of thing that makes teenagers look up from their phones. Luc looked up from his phone. That's how I know it was good.

If you’re going to sweat through a week of commercial electrical work in Baton Rouge summer heat and still be expected to feed a household that includes a newly minted art critic and a teenager surgically attached to his phone, you need a dish that earns its place at the table — something with heat, something with richness, something that says I worked hard today and so did this sauce. Cajun chicken pasta is that dish for me: it’s the restaurant version I decided to own, and once you make it from scratch with your own spice blend and a real butter-and-cream Parmesan sauce, you’ll never order it out again.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 lb fettuccine or penne pasta
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
3 green onions, sliced (for garnish)
Cajun Blackening Spice Blend:
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (adjust to heat preference)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions

Make the spice blend. Combine the paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, oregano, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside.
Season the chicken. Pat chicken breasts dry with paper towels. Coat both sides generously with the Cajun spice blend, pressing gently so it adheres.
Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook fettuccine according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water before draining.
Blacken the chicken. Heat olive oil in a large cast-iron or heavy skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add chicken breasts and cook 5–6 minutes per side until deeply crusted and cooked through (internal temp 165°F). Remove to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes, then slice on the bias.
Build the sauce. Reduce heat to medium. In the same skillet, melt butter and add garlic, cooking 30 seconds until fragrant. Add bell pepper and cook 2 minutes. Pour in chicken broth and scrape up any browned bits from the pan. Add heavy cream and bring to a gentle simmer, cooking 3–4 minutes until slightly thickened.
Finish with Parmesan. Reduce heat to low. Stir in grated Parmesan a handful at a time, letting each addition melt fully before adding the next. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If the sauce is too thick, loosen with a splash of reserved pasta water.
Combine and serve. Add the drained pasta to the sauce and toss to coat thoroughly. Plate the pasta, fan sliced blackened chicken over the top, and garnish with sliced green onions. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Cajun Chicken Pasta — The Dish That Made Luc Put Down His Phone