Showing posts with label Adam's Chicken Riggies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adam's Chicken Riggies. Show all posts

Thursday, March 14, 2019

Adam's Chicken Riggies

Adam's Chicken Riggies
Adam's Chicken Riggies
Adam's Chicken Riggies

I really enjoy finding and preparing U.S. regional dishes--Key Lime Pie from Florida, Shrimp and Grits from Charleston, City Chicken from Polish neighborhoods in the midwest, Cheesesteak Sandwiches from Philadelphia, etc.

I found this particular recipe on the Internet and it intrigued me as it appears to be a regional dish specifically associated with the Utica/Rome area of New York State. It is a spicy pasta with chicken and red and green peppers in a creamy tomato sauce dish.

I found most of the recipes for this dish to be much too spicy for me (and there are endless variations on the Net) so I played around with the recipe until I made one that suited my palate.  My contribution was using premade arrabiata sauce. You can easily make this dish spicier by adding additional arrabiata sauce, or dried red pepper flakes. I like it just as it is in this recipe. This recipe will easily feed five to six people.

Ingredients

MARINADE

1/2 cup dry sherry (I used 1/2 cup white grape juice and 1 teaspoon wine vinegar)
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed

SAUCE:

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 medium sweet red and green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 15 ounce can Italian diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups arrabiata sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 box (16 ounces each) uncooked rigatoni
1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
4 ounces cream cheese, cut up
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1-1/2 cups grated Romano cheese

Directions

1. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine sherry, 2 tablespoons oil, garlic and oregano. Add chicken; seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate 1 hour.

2. Drain chicken, discarding marinade. Heat 2 tables olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken in batches; cook and stir until no longer pink. Remove from pan.

3. In same pan, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add peppers, onion and garlic; cook and stir until tender. Stir in diced tomatoes, arrabiata sauce, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 8-10 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Add chicken; heat through.

4. Meanwhile, in a stockpot, cook rigatoni according to package directions. In a small saucepan, combine cream and cream cheese over medium heat; cook and stir until blended. Add to chicken mixture; stir in Romano cheese.

5. Drain rigatoni; return to stockpot. Add sauce to pasta; toss to combine.

6. Plate pasta and sprinkle with fresh chopped basil.

Variations of this recipe on the Internet call for a much spicier version—too spicy for me. If you want to easily control the spiciness of the recipe you can add additional arrabiata sauce to taste.

If you try this recipe, I would love for you to post a comment and let me know what you think!