Spicy Chicken Pasta

Sometimes it's just about saying that you could and you did.  I borrowed my mom's pasta maker just to see if homemade pasta would be one of those life changing experiences like the homemade tortillas were.  

These little guys were definitely a lot of work.  A lot, a lot, a lot.  Some things that are labor intensive are worth it in the end...like chocolate babka.  Seriously, the first time I made that and then tasted it, I swore I'd make it every single weekend, despite the effort that went into the bazillion turn, roll, fold, refrigerate steps it took to get that awesome flaky bread.   And homemade ravioli and sheet pasta is definitely worth the extra effort on occasion. 

So how about homemade ziti/rigati pasta?  It sure looks like it's something pretty special as it comes cranking out.

After its cooked it looks like it's exponentially better than dried pasta--kind of like the fat chewy yumminess of homemade noodles in chicken noodle soup.  

I figured pasta this substantial needed a bit of bite in the sauce so I opted for a super spicy red tomato based sauce for these little fat pasta guys. 

And the result....drum roll please...........  eh.   After all that work, this was really like any other pasta dish.  It was yummy and I loved the spiciness, but when something takes that much work, it should jump off the plate and into your mouth.  A little dance on your tongue would be nice as well.  Worse than the work of making the pasta though was cleaning that machine and scrubbing the gooey covered molding plates with a mini brush.  Yuck. 

There is however, a little satisfaction in knowing you've tried something and can cross it off your to-do list.  I've shared the recipe below minus the homemade pasta part.  I'd recommend you skip the homemade noodles and whip up some chocolate babka with the time you save. 

SPICY CHICKEN PASTA

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 lb chicken breast sliced

2 cloves minced garlic
2 tbsp red pepper flakes (adjust to your taste)

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cup favorite marinara sauce (my fav recipe coming soon)

1 cup peas 

3 cups hot freshly cooked pasta
freshly grated parmesan

1. In a large sauté pan, heat 2 tsp olive oil over med high and cook chicken just until done. 
2. Remove chicken from pan and turn heat down to med.  Add remaining 2 tsp olive oil to pan along with garlic and 1 tbsp red peppers.  Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes
3. Add chicken back to pan and stir to coat with garlic and peppers.  Add salt and pepper.
4. Stir in pasta, peas, marinara and extra red pepper flakes and cook 3-4 minutes or until all ingredients come to temp.  Serve with freshly grated parmesan.