Smoked Chicken in Creamy Tomato Pasta
Ingredients
- 1.5 T butter (unsalted)
- 1/2 c chopped onion
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/8 t red pepper flakes
- 2 cloves minced smoked garlic
- 2 t tomato paste
- 1/4 c chicken stock (Or wine, if desired.)
- 2 c canned chopped tomatoes
- 150 g pasta (Macaroni worked well, shells would too.)
- 1 diced Smoked chicken breast
- 1/2 c whipping cream
- 1.5 T basil
- 1 t salt (to taste)
- freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- parmesan cheese (for serving)
Method
Melt the butter in a large skillet, add the onion, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, and salt. Cook until the onion has started to soften and started to go translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook until aromatic.
Add the tomato paste and basil and stir constantly until well mixed and the tomato starts to darken.
Add the chicken stock and stir until most of the liquid has evaporated.
Add the chopped tomatoes and black pepper, mix well, and bring to a boil. Allow the mixture to reduce and thicken, about 15 minutes. While the mixture is reducing, cook the pasta and start warming serving bowls in the oven on low.
Once the mixture has thickened, add the diced smoked chicken, mix in, and allow to heat through. Drain the pasta.
Add the cream slowly, mixing well, add the pasta and allow the mixture to heat through thoroughly.
Serve in warmed bowls, optionally with parmesan cheese grated on top.
Notes
SJ Note 5 March 2010: This was tasty! More filling than either of us expected, and a tad on the spicy side. We've lowered the crushed red pepper flakes in this copy from 1/4 t to 1/8 t to eliminate that problem in the future. All in all, an excellent dish, particularly for one Chris whipped up sans recipe!