Smoky + Spicy Shredded Chicken Pasta

It's MONDAY!  

Hurray.  Are you still off work?  Did you have a nice holiday weekend?  Are you back in the office?

Me too.  

Sorry about that. 

The good news about today is that I have lots of new food to show you, starting with this pasta.  I made it for dinner on Friday night, and we loved it.  Basically, it's regular tomato sauce amped up with a few extra veggies and shredded chicken, but what REALLY makes it is smoked paprika and smoky fire-roasted tomatoes.  The sauce is juuuuust different enough to be really special, but it's still just as easy as making regular spaghetti.  

Trust me.  You'll love it!

First, let's start with the chicken.  You can use half a rotisserie chicken, shredded, if you'd like!  I used 4 small boneless, skinless chicken thighs.  I poached them with a sprinkle of salt and frozen veggie remnants that I keep around to make homemade stock.  You can use white meat or a combo of white/dark.  

Place the chicken in a pot and just cover it with water.  Turn the heat to medium and let the chicken very slowly warm through and cook, for about 20 minutes.  You can do this with frozen chicken too, just turn the heat to medium-high until the water boils, then turn the heat down.  

While the chicken is cooking, grab your other ingredients!  1 can fire roasted tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, 1 small carrot, ½ onion, garlic, crushed red pepper, white wine, and smoked paprika.

Finely dice the carrot, onion, and garlic.  We want super teensy chunks so that the sauce will be nice and uniform!

When the chicken is fully cooked, remove it from the pot and drain the stock/cooking liquid.  I used the same pot to make the sauce, but you could have the chicken working in one pot while you make the rest of the sauce in another.  Totally up to you!

Let the chicken cool until you can handle it (probably while you're making the rest of the sauce), then shred it with your fingers or two forks. 

Nice!  Now the chicken is ready for the sauce.

 Go ahead and grab your pasta too:  Cook it according to the package directions while you make the sauce. 

For the sauce, in a large pot over medium heat, add the carrot with a drizzle of olive oil.

 Let the carrot cook and start to soften for 2 minutes, then add the onion. 

Let THAT cook for 2 minutes, then add the garlic, 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika, and as much crushed red pepper as you'd like.  Yum!

Now, stir the veggies together for another minute or two, then pour in the wine!  Stir the wine into the spices and let it bubble and reduce by about half.  Turn the heat up if the wine doesn't boil quickly after you pour it in. 

Now, add the tomato products and a sprinkle of salt. Stir everything together, and taste the sauce.  Add more crushed red pepper or salt if you'd like!

Now, at this point add the chicken, then you can serve right away or simmer the sauce for 30 minutes or so to allow the flavors to really come together.  It's totally up to you!  

I was ready to eat, so I threw the pasta right in...

....and stirred everything together.  

And that's it!  Taste the pasta once more to be sure you don't want to add any more salt, then you're good to go.  I added some super sharp parmesan on top which was a great offset to the smoky paprika and tomatoes.

This is really nice and special, guys.  You could add other chopped veggies or even spinach if you like, and the chicken is nice and healthy as long as you take off any skin and fat.  

Enjoy this!  We're still loving the leftovers. 

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Smoky/Spicy Chicken Pasta

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• Total Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients

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• ½ pound shredded cooked chicken, about 1.5 cups (see above for how to poach it yourself)
• 1 small carrot, finely chopped
• 1 small onion or ½ large onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• crushed red pepper and salt
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 small can tomato sauce
• 1 13 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
• ½ pound penne pasta, cooked to package directions
• parmesan cheese, for serving

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Instructions

1. Bring a large pot to medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil. Add the carrot and a sprinkle of salt. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the onion.
2. Stir the veggies together. When the onion has slightly softened, after about 3 minutes, add the garlic, smoked paprika, and crushed red pepper to your taste.
3. Stir together for 1 minute, then add the wine. Allow the wine to reduce by half, the add the tomato products.
4. Stir the sauce and taste - add more salt or crushed red pepper to your taste. Stir in the chicken and allow to simmer for 30 minutes or so, if you'd like.
5. Before serving, stir the cooked pasta in to the sauce. Serve topped with parmesan cheese.

• Prep Time: 15
• Cook Time: 15

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 4