Chicken Rigatoni with Creamy Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 lb rigatoni or pasta of choice
• 1 chicken breast (Cut into thin slices; grill with favorite seasoning.)
• 4 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 cloves garlic (Freshly minced.)
• 0.5 white onion (Diced.)
• basil leaves (For garnish.)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 0.5 cup Parmesan cheese (Add to sauce; additional Parmesan may be used for garnish.)
• 0.5 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup pasta water (Reserved from cooking the pasta; add only as needed to bring the sauce together.)
• salt (To taste; use in the pasta cooking water and sauce.)
• black pepper (To taste.)
• 1 tbsp red chili flakes
• 2 tbsp butter (For sautéing the onions and garlic.)

Steps

1. 1

   Bring a pot of water to a boil and season it with salt. Cook the rigatoni or pasta of choice in the boiling salted water. Set the cooked pasta aside and reserve 1 cup of the pasta water.

2. 2

   While the pasta cooks, prepare the chicken by keeping the breast in thin slices and seasoning it with your favorite seasoning.

3. 3

   Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the diced onion and sauté until soft and translucent.

4. 4

   Add the freshly minced garlic and cook for 1–2 minutes, taking care not to let it burn.

5. 5

   Add the tomato paste to the pan. Season with salt, black pepper, and red chili flakes, then cook for 1 minute without allowing the garlic to burn.

6. 6

   Add the heavy whipping cream and stir until the mixture is combined.

7. 7

   Continue simmering the sauce over medium heat until it is slightly thickened.

8. 8

   Add the Parmesan cheese and stir it into the sauce.

9. 9

   Add the cooked pasta to the finished sauce in the pan and toss to coat. Stir in just enough reserved pasta water for the sauce to come together smoothly.

10. 10

    Add the mozzarella cheese and mix well until incorporated into the pasta and sauce.

11. 11

    Grill the seasoned chicken until cooked through, then serve it with the warm pasta.

12. 12

    Garnish the dish with fresh basil leaves and additional Parmesan cheese.

Notes

The source does not specify the chicken seasoning, grilling temperature, or chicken cooking time; cook the sliced chicken through before serving. Pasta water should be added gradually and only as needed.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• pasta
• Italian-inspired
• chicken
• creamy
• grilled
• comfort food