Monday, January 26, 2009

Chicken Riggies

I had never heard of chicken riggies until I was watching Rachael Ray a few weeks ago. Apparently they're a huge thing in upstate New York, and different areas each have their own take on the dish. From what I gather, "riggies" means rigatoni; so, what all of the versions have in common is that they're a similar chicken rigatoni dish. While the Rachael Ray version didn't sound that great to me, I decided to browse the internet and find some other versions and see what I could do to tweak it to make it my own.

I can't say how authentic it is, but we both really liked it. It reminded both of us a bit of a spicy chicken cacciatore with pasta. We hope you enjoy it, too!

Excuse the bad photo, please!

Chicken Riggies
Serves 4

Prep Time - 10 min

Cook Time - 25 min


INGREDIENTS
1 lb rigatoni
3 TBSP olive oil
3 TBSP butter
5 cloves garlic, minced
3 shallots, diced
2 chicken breast halves, cubed
salt and pepper to taste
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
1 Poblano pepper, chopped
1 (28 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained slightly
3 TBSP dry sherry
3/4 - 1 cup heavy cream

DIRECTIONS
Cook pasta to al dente. Drain & set aside.

Melt butter & heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and shallots and saute until almost soft, then add peppers and chicken, season with salt and pepper. Saute for 8-10 minutes, or until chicken is almost cooked through.

Reduce heat to low and add tomato sauce and sherry and simmer about 10 minutes. Stir in cream and simmer for 10 minutes more. Toss all with hot, cooked pasta and serve.

6 comments:

What's Cookin Chicago said...

It looks delicious and pasta is so perfect in the winter months - so hearty and satisfying!

Joanne said...

It's like a texmex/Italian fusion! Really, how can you go wrong there?

test it comm said...

That pasta looks tasty. I like the hot peppers in it.

The Snippy Bride said...

If you want to try Chicken Riggies, I suggest you make a road trip in April to Utica's Riggiefest. It's a cook-off between Central New York Restaurants of this great dish. Get more details on the event at www.riggiefest.org.

Michele said...

I've had this on my list of recipes to make! I did the same thing you did and looked for recipes on line. I didn't save anything so thanks for doing the research!!!

Unknown said...

i've been browsing the internet for some new takes on chicken riggies recipe and none that i have found are 100% authentic. i am from rome, ny and our riggies always have chunks of sauteed onion, mushrooms, green and red peppers, and black olives. cherry peppers for heat and lots of romano cheese stirred in at the end. i've even made them with orange and yellow peppers, but the above ingredients are key! you can even shortcut it by using a jarred vodka sauce and add in the cream and sauteed veggies. you can also char grill the chicken. mmmm... rachael ray don't know anything about riggies. you can't even get them in the albany area. : )