Ingredients :
Meat:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves minced
4 oz sun-dried tomatoes
1 lb chicken breast , thinly sliced
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon paprika
Pasta:
8 oz rigatoni (for gluten free, use gluten free rigatoni)
Creamy pasta sauce:
1 cup half and half
1 tablespoon basil , dried
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
3 tablespoons capers
½ cup reserved cooked pasta water or more
¼ teaspoon salt to taste
Instructions :
In a large pan, on high heat, sauté garlic and
sun-dried tomatoes (drained from oil) in 2
tablespoons of oil (reserved from the sun-dried
tomatoes jar – see note above) for 30 seconds
until garlic is fragrant. Add thinly sliced chicken
breast, sprinkle with salt and paprika, and cook
on high heat for 1 minute on each side.
Remove from heat.
In the mean time, cook rigatoni pasta al dente.
Reserve some cooked pasta water. Optionally,
you can drain and rinse the rigatoni with cold
water (to stop cooking).
While the rigatoni is cooking, make the pasta
cream sauce. Add half and half to the skillet
with the chicken. Add 1 tablespoon of basil, at
least ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Bring to
a gentle boil. Add Mozzarella cheese.
Immediately reduce to simmer and cook,
constantly stirring, until all cheese melts and
creamy sauce forms.
Add capers. Stir to combine. If the sauce is too
thick – don’t worry – you’ll be adding some
cooked pasta water soon. Add cooked rigatoni
to the skillet with the cream sauce, and stir to
combine
Add about ½ cup reserved cooked pasta water
because the cream sauce will be too thick (do
not add all water at once – you might need less
or more of it). This will water down the
thickness of the cheese sauce and make it
creamier. Immediately, season this creamy
chicken rigatoni pasta with salt and more red
pepper flakes, to taste, if needed. Let it simmer
- for a couple of minutes for flavors to combine.