Rasta Pasta

New Year's Day, 2025: I've become close friends with a Jamaican family lately, and today they asked me to cook "Rasta pasta." This turned out to be a variation on chicken Alfredo, with bell peppers and a lot of Jamaican jerk seasoning added. It was easy to make, and the end result was spicy and very tasty!
Pans needed: A decent sized cast iron dutch oven, 5 quarts or more in size. I've made double sized batches of this, which required a pot at least 7 quarts in size. The pasta can be made in the same pot, before preparing the chicken and other ingredients; or, you can make the pasta in a separate stock pot.

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces (1 pound) dried pasta, your choice. Penne is the most popular, though any pasta will do; even spaghetti will work.
  • 2 large chicken breasts, 16 ounces total (more or less)
  • Optional: 8 ounces cooked shrimp, for extra flavor
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil: 2 tablespoons for frying chicken and 2 tablespoons for sautéing bell peppers
  • 2 bell peppers, sliced into thin strips
  • 3 tablespoons jerk seasoning: 1 tablespoon to marinate the chicken, 2 tablespoons for the sauce
  • 2 teaspoons additional seasoning for the chicken (adobo, sazon, chicken rub, your choice)
  • 1 medium sized onion, minced
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup vegetable stock or chicken stock
  • 1 cup cream or half and half
  • 2 tablespoons flour to thicken the sauce
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
Cut chicken into cubes, roughly half an inch in size. Place diced chicken into a bowl, and mix in 1 tablespoon jerk seasoning and 2 teaspoons chicken seasoning. Place the bowl of chicken into the refrigerator to marinate, while the other ingredients are being prepared.
Cut bell peppers into strips. Chop and mince onion and garlic. The bell peppers, onion and garlic can be placed into the same bowl or container.
Boil pasta to al dente. If you're using the same pot as the finished recipe, move the pasta to a large container so it can be added to the dish at the end.
Heat up your dutch oven to searing temperature (about ten minutes on medium heat). Add oil, then add the marinated chicken and brown all sides. Cover the pot for five minutes, then remove and stir the chicken. Continue cooking chicken until it is thoroughly cooked. You'll be able to tell this when the chicken pieces are no longer tough and rubbery, and you can easily split a chicken piece in half with your spatula. The split chicken piece will be cooked on the inside. Remove the chicken and reserve into a bowl, while the other ingredients are cooked. Mix in the remaining 2 tablespoons of jerk seasoning, stirring until it is all mixed together.
Add more oil to the dutch oven, then add the peppers, onion and garlic. Stir fry for about five minutes until the peppers and onions are soft and lightly caramelized.
Add vegetable stock and cream, and stir it until the liquid thickens into a sauce. If it doesn't appear as though the sauce is thickening, stir in 2 tablespoons of flour, and stir it all together to make the sauce. Add parmesan cheese and stir everything to melt the cheese and mix it all into the sauce.
Add the cooked chicken back into the pot and stir it all together until the chicken is thoroughly coated in the sauce. Finally, add in the cooked pasta, and stir it all together to produce the finished rasta pasta.
Serve right away!

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