Chicken alla arrabbiata (aka ANGRY BIRD)

Mmmm, another dish selected by Andy, so of course it's the best. He's got an eye for the delicious (lasagna timpano, for instance.) Tonight we sought out to make penne alla arrabbiata, but with a little meat added in order to make it an entree (for carnivores.)

To begin with, I heated up a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in my cast-iron skillet, then added the chicken, cooking it for 6-7 minutes on each side until it was well-browned.

Meanwhile I cooked my pasta according to the directions. I used strozzapreti, which is a kind of wheat semolina pasta. It looks a bit like a long macaroni. After the pasta was done cooking, I drained it and set it aside.

Once the chicken it was browned, I reserved it on a plate. To the same skillet I added the chopped onion and cooked it till it was translucent. It began to brown quite quickly because of the residual oil from the chicken, so I was careful to lower the heat a bit below medium to keep the onion from burning.

I then added the minced garlic and a couple of dashes of cayenne pepper to the skillet. I cooked the garlic for a minute or two before pouring in white wine and raising the heat up to moderately high. I waited a couple of minutes to let the wine reduce, after which I returned the chicken to the skillet, along with the peeled tomatoes, oregano, parsley, and shredded salami.

I lowered the skillet to a simmer and covered it for 40 minutes. Then I removed the lid, raised the heat to medium-high, and let it cook for an additional ten minutes while the sauce thickened.

Then I poured the sauce into the pot with the pasta and stirred it all together. I topped each serving with a sprinkle of pecorino romano and chopped green onions.

Too good.

Chicken alla Arrabbiata (adapted from Italian Food Forever)
Serves 4
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
16 oz pasta (something like penne or semolina or strozzapreti)

1 small onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced

2 dashes cayenne pepper
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 can whole peeled tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon oregano
4 slices Genoa salami, shredded
Salt and pepper