Piccante Chicken Penne

"Piccante" in Italian means "spicy," so prepare your taste buds for some heat. Usually when it comes to any kind of tomato sauce, I like to follow the K.I.S.S. Method (Keep It Simple Stupid); for this recipe, I did just that, but added a few things to spice it up! If you aren't comfortable with the heat, tone down the spicy ingredients and follow the tips I provide for you below. 

Tips:

NEAT TRICK - I HATE trying to scrape tomato paste out of those tiny little cans! I saw one of my favorite chefs on the Food Network use this trick; with a can opener, open both ends of tomato paste can. Remove one of the tops and use the opposite end to act like a squeegee to get all of the tomato paste out. GENIUS!! Thank you Mr. Guy Fieri.

All in - if you are looking for kick in this dish, put the whole hot pepper in (seeds included). The spice is in the seeds and ribs of the pepper.

Look alike - I use penne pasta in this dish because I can leave the chicken in strips and the shapes of the ingredients remain consistent.

Prep Time: 5-10 minutes

Cook Time: 20-25 minutes

Servings: 5-6 servings

1 cup chicken strips, fully cooked and grilled

8 ounces (2 cups or half a box) penne pasta, dry
1 Fresno or red Jalapeno chile pepper

1, 6 ounce can tomato paste

2 cups of water
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
1/4 teaspoon course ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce 

Directions: 

1)  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta as per the manufacturer's instructions for al dente pasta; meanwhile prepare the sauce.

2) Place the Fresno of Jalapeno pepper in a microwave safe bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and microwave the pepper for 50-60 seconds (this will make the pepper easy to peel). Allow the pepper to cool.

3) In a medium saucepan, combine tomato paste, water, garlic, basil, salt, black pepper, chili flakes, and Tabasco. Stir ingredients until combined.

4) When the pepper has cooled, remove the skin. Place the pepper (seeds included) into a small bowl  or mortar and with the back of a spoon, press the pepper against the sides. Work until the pepper becomes a paste. Add the pepper into the sauce.

5) Heat the sauce over medium heat just until it begins to bubble slightly. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

6) When the pasta has finished cooking, drain the pasta, but keep about 1/4 cup of pasta water in the pan. 

7) Return the pasta pan to medium low heat and pour the sauce over the pasta. 

8) Add to the pan the cooked chicken strips and toss all of the ingredients together. Cook for an additional 3-4 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is heated through. Serve immediately.