| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 2 hr |
| Prep: | 1 hr |
| Cook: | 1 hr |
| Yield: | 6 to 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1/2 can chipotle pepper in adobe sauce
- 10 serrano chiles, stemmed, rough chop
- 3/4 cup hot pepper oil (chili oil)
- 3/4 cup olive oil plus 3 to 4 tablespoons
- 1 red onion, small dice
- 2 tablespoons finely minced fresh garlic
- 1 tablespoon dry basil
- 1 tablespoon dry oregano
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
- 1 teaspoon black pepper, plus more for sprinkling
- 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 1 green bell pepper, small dice
- 1 red bell pepper, small dice
- 1 yellow bell pepper, small dice
- 8 cups favorite tomato sauce
- 6 cups heavy cream
- 2 cups grated Romano
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 to 1 1/2 pounds dried rigatoni noodles
- 2 pounds chicken breast, cut into strips
- Shredded locatelli cheese, or favorite grated cheese, for serving
- 4 scallions, fine dice (retain for final garnish)
Instructions
- For the hot sauce: In a blender, carefully blenderize the chipotle peppers, serrano chiles and pepper oil. This stuff is hot! Be careful with splatter! Reserve.
- For the chicken: In a large braiser or saucepot, warm 3/4 cup of the olive oil over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the onions, garlic, basil, oregano, salt, black pepper, cayenne and red pepper flakes. Stir well and cook until the onions are translucent.
- Stir the fresh chopped bell peppers into the onion mixture. Stir to coat. Add the reserved hot sauce. Continue cooking for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the tomato sauce, heavy cream, Romano and sugar. Whisk well!
- Lower the heat until the sauce slightly bubbles, and stir well. Turn the heat to low or off while sauteing the chicken strips and cooking the rigatoni noodles.
- When the sauce is nearing doneness, cook the rigatoni noodles according to package directions. I like to pre-cook my pasta for sauteed pasta dishes such as this. Pre-cooking rigatoni to near doneness, straining and holding at room temperature, or completely chilling down if holding for several hours or more and then dunking in hot, boiling water prior to sauteing works well.
- For the chicken saute, heat a large saute pan with the remaining olive oil. First, sprinkle the chicken strips with 1 teaspoon salt (more or less), and add to the hot olive oil, one layer at a time. Do not overcrowd the pan. Cook in batches if necessary. Add a dash of black pepper if desired. Flip and shake the chicken pieces around in the hot pan to sear all sides. Cook until opaque and lightly brown, about 4 minutes. Set aside.
- Toss the tomato sauce and chicken in a large bowl in half-batches, or altogether. Pour onto a serving platter or individual pasta bowls. Garnish with locatelli cheese and reserved fresh scallions.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 1680 |
| Total Fat | 128 g |
| Saturated Fat | 54 g |
| Carbohydrates | 85 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 8 g |
| Sugar | 24 g |
| Protein | 54 g |
| Cholesterol | 365 mg |
| Sodium | 1971 mg |
Reviews
The recipe is missing the jalapeño that was mentioned in the segment of DDD
One of my favorite recipes on earth! My mom and I discovered this pasta recipe watching DDD about 15 years ago and still make it to this day! The flavor of the sauce is off the charts! Spicy, creamy, smoky, yet fresh. All the prep is worth the outstanding pasta sauce in return and boat loads! Make room in your freezer 🙂
Excellent. I made a half recipe and saved half of that minus cream in the freezer for a future meal. This was super delicious and actually pleasantly spicy. I can’t wait to make this again!!
This was so good!! I cut the recipe and pared it down to a third of what the recipe calls for and still we have enough for another meal…which is ok by me!! It was hot and spicy, but all you have to do is look at the ingredients to figure that out. The chipotle gave it such a great smoky taste. It took me a good 2+ hours to prepare, but totally worth it!!
It’s a little work but well worth it. Enjoy!
I’m going to try this
Amazing…I used jarred Rao’s marinara sauce (nothing compares!!). Yes, it’s hot and yes it’s a lot; get over it!
Help please, Do you use can tomato sauce or a jar of pasta sauce???
Thanks
It’s hot–get over it!! We loved this (even my 6th-grade son!), and I made it as written, but with a nod to the video. I simmered the sauce after adding the cream for 45 minutes, then added the cheese and sugar. This is wicked, both calorically and heat-wise, but I strongly recommend the following: (a) halve or even quarter the sauce–you will still have loads; (b) reduce the amount of oil (I still used 3/4 cup chili oil (made by heating 2 teaspoons of chili flakes in 3/4 olive oil until bubbly, cooling, and straining) in the pepper puree, but I only used about 2 tablespoons plain olive oil to saute the onions and peppers); and (c) go ahead and use all the serrano chilies, but you might want to seed them. Lastly: eat it with beer…lots of beer…and Kleenex. Oh, yeah, and I added several handfuls of baby spinach, for color, (it wilts in the hot pasta) and to save my soul from all the cream, carbs, and cheese…
My niece saw this recipe on TV and wanted me to try it. I agree with other reviews; way too much sauce so I’ll just reduce amount next time. I knew it would be way too hot for my family so I used only 4 serrano chiles, and it was perfect! Excellent dish, and I will make this again!