Pantry Raid - Spaghetti All'Amatriciana with Chicken

I find myself many nights not wanting to plan a meal, go to the market and come back to follow instructions. Problem is, I think it is hard for anyone to look at your current stock of food and come up with something delicious and satisfying. I decided to give it a go having on hand the below ingredients. This style of pasta can be found in most Italian restaurants and the richness of the tomato sauce is delicious. Plus, there is bacon in it so you know it is salty and comforting. Even with the bacon, though, this is a healthy dinner anyone is going to love. If you do not have chicken on hand, you could use a lot of different proteins. Thawed frozen shrimp. Sliced Italian sausage. Take a look in your fridge and toss in whatever feels right and will go with this tasty pasta.

Spaghetti All'Amatriciana with Chicken

Forks & Amusement 2010

serves 2 very hungry people

Ingredients:

3 slices of bacon or pancetta, diced

1/2 large onion, diced

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (use more of if you like more heat)

2 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 cup dry white wine

28 oz can of crushed tomatoes

2 cooked chicken breasts, meat shredded (leftover or cook using the methods in this post)

16 oz or spaghetti or about 1/4 of the box

Parmesan cheese, grated

Place large pot of water on the stove, bring to a boil, add salt to the water and cook pasta according to the package until al dente. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, place large skillet over medium heat and add the bacon. Cook until crisp, but not burnt and transfer to a paper-towel lined plate to drain. Remove skillet from heat and remove all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan. Return to stove and place over medium high heat. Add the onion and crushed red pepper. Cook until onion starts to slightly brown, add the garlic and cook 1 minute until fragrant. Add the wine and turn stove to high. Simmer until most of the wine is cooked off and reduced, scraping the pan of any browned bits. Add the tomatoes and season with generous amount of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer over high heat until mixture is very thick, about 10-12 minutes. Add in the chicken and allow to simmer an additional 5 minutes. Finally, add in the pasta and cook for about 2 minutes until the pasta is well coated with the sauce. Toss in the bacon. Serve in heaping mounds with a very generous amount of Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

xoxo

Erin