Spiced Chicken & Mezzi Rigatoni

I’m a huge pasta fan and love trying out new recipes. I’m always scanning the pasta aisle for a different noodle to try. That’s when I spotted the mezzi rigatoni on the shelf. Mezzi rigatoni is the same as regular rigatoni, but basically the noodle is about half the length. The sides are ridged, making it great for grabbing and holding your sauce.

The pasta that I used is from Barilla but there are other brands out there that carry this specific cut. This recipe originally used penne, which I also love, but I wanted to try something different with it.

As you probably already know, I’m on Pinterest along with the rest of the world. I have a several boards that are specifically for recipes I’d like to try. All of those boards are prefaced with the word “Food”. Several weeks ago I pinned this from My Recipes.

I pretty much stuck to the recipe, but they say to rub the chicken, which is pretty difficult once its been cut up, so I tossed it in a bowl with the spices instead. I also tossed in a little flour as it still seemed a little sticky. The recipe also called for chicken breast tenders. I just used chicken breasts, no sense paying more for someone to slice it up for me! Lastly, I prefer to use dry Vermouth whenever white wine is called for in a recipe. You can use dry white wine if you prefer, or if you want to nix the alcohol all together, chicken broth will work as well.

I really enjoyed this dish! It did need a little sprinkling of salt (or garlic salt if you prefer, that’s what I use) to bring out the flavor. But, that’s a personal preference and you may not need any salt at all.

If you try it, please be sure and let me know what you think!

More Chicken & Pasta Recipes

Spaghetti in Chicken Tomato Sauce with Green Beans
Baked Penne with Chicken, Broccoli & Smoked Gouda
Mostaccioli with Chicken, Peas and Peppers
Chicken and Pasta with Cilantro Pesto – Taste and Tell
Buffalo Chicken Pasta – Created by Diane
Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Orecchiette – Big Bear’s Wife

Spiced Chicken & Mezzi Rigatoni

This is one of my all time favorite pasta dishes!

5 from 3 votes

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Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 4 servings

30 minutes mins

Calories: 500

Author: Amanda Davis

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground fennel seed
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried basil
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ▢ 1 pound boneless chicken breast cut into (1-inch) pieces
• ▢ 1 tablespoon flour if needed
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 4 garlic cloves minced
• ▢ 4 cups canned diced tomatoes undrained
• ▢ 1 cup Vermouth or dry white wine
• ▢ 8 ounces uncooked mezze rigatoni
• ▢ ¼ cup 1 ounce freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• ▢ ¼ cup chopped fresh basil

Instructions

• Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Place cubed chicken in a large bowl and toss with spice mixture until coated. If chicken is tacky, toss in a tablespoon of flour.
• Place a large pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil for the pasta. Pasta should be cooking, according to package directions, while you are making the sauce.
• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 4 minutes, turning once. This will form a nice golden brown crust. Remove from heat; set aside.
• Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds or until garlic is soft. Add tomatoes and Vermouth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Add chicken, and simmer 5 minutes.
• Drain pasta and toss with sauce in a large bowl. Sprinkle with cheese and basil.

Nutrition

Serving: 1portion | Calories: 500cal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 78mg | Sodium: 865mg | Potassium: 1009mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 450IU | Vitamin C: 24.9mg | Calcium: 181mg | Iron: 4.1mg

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