Baked rigatoni with chicken strips and a spicy tomato cream sauce

Ingredients for 3 servings:

• 250g rigatoni
• ½ chicken breast
• 1 small can of tomatoes, pureed
• 1 bell pepper(s), red
• some white wine
• 4 spring onions
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp, heaped capers
• 1 cup whipped cream
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• 2 tbsp, heaped tomato paste
• 150g mozzarella
• 3 tsp sweet paprika powder
• 1 tsp paprika powder, hot
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• 1 pinch of sugar if needed

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 50 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 10 minutes

Dice the bell peppers, slice the spring onions into rings, and finely dice the garlic cloves. Heat the oil in a pan. Sauté the bell peppers and spring onions until crisp and season with salt (roasted flavors are important for the dish). Sauté the garlic, then the tomato paste, and deglaze with a splash of white wine. Add the passata and the thyme sprigs, season with salt, a little pepper, paprika, and a pinch of sugar, if desired. Reduce heat to low and simmer with the lid on for about 20 minutes. During this time, cook the rigatoni in salted water until al dente. At the same time, cut the chicken breast into bite-sized pieces and sear briefly (not too long, as they will continue to cook during the gratin) in a little oil in another pan, season with salt and pepper, and set aside. Finely chop the capers, add them to the sauce along with the cream, and then simmer uncovered for about 10 more minutes. Add a little more pasta water if necessary. Remove the thyme sprigs from the sauce and drizzle with olive oil. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (convection oven). Mix the rigatoni, sauce, and chicken strips well in a baking dish and sprinkle with the mozzarella. Bake on the middle rack for about 15-20 minutes, until the cheese has melted and is lightly browned.