The result was fantastic. The sauce tastes so creamy and indulgent and is packed with the most vibrant flavours. You can add anything else you fancy to this to bulk it out ( courgette ribbons, peppers etc) but I like the sauce a little smoother so just went with the recipe below.

If you would like to reduce the points further you can swap the mascarpone for extra light soft cheese. For an extra few points though, the lovely creaminess and flavour of the mascarpone is really special.

POINTS AND NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serves 2 – per serving = 13 points or 508 cals, 16.9g fat, 44.0g carbs, 47.1g protein

Ingredients

300g raw chicken breast, cut into strips

½ large onion, finely sliced

40g sun dried tomatoes, drained and finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

Sprinkle of chilli flakes

1/2 tsp plain flour

½ chicken stock cube made up with 250ml boiling water

1 tsp dried oregano

75g lighter mascarpone

100g dried pasta of your choice (I like spaghetti)

1 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated

10g each of fresh basil and spinach, finely chopped

1 lemon

Low calorie cooking spray

Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Spray a large frying pan with low-calorie cooking spray and add the chicken.
2. Season with salt and pepper and fry for 6–7 minutes until cooked through. Remove from the pan and pop to one side.
3. In the same pan, spray again with low-calorie cooking spray, add the onion and fry for a few minutes, adding a little water if the pan gets dry. Next, add the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and chilli flakes and fry for another 2 minutes.
4. Add the flour, stir in for a minute, and then add a quarter of the stock. Once the stock starts to thicken, add the chicken back into the pan and keep adding the stock bit by bit until you’ve used it all and the stock thickens up nicely. Add the oregano and mascarpone and reduce the pan to a low simmer.
5. At this point, pop the pasta on to cook. Once the pasta has cooked, drain, reserving a little of the cooking water.
6. Finally, add the Parmesan, most of the fresh basil, the spinach and the juice of half the lemon to the sauce, then mix and simmer for another minute to combine. You want the sauce to be thick but loose enough to coat the pasta. If it’s a little too thick, add a bit of the reserved pasta water to loosen up.
7. Finally, mix the pasta into the sauce, combine everything well and serve with a wedge of lemon and a little basil on top.

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