Week 21 of 52 Recipes...

A bunch of my friends from college came over for dinner one night since one of our friends was in town from over seas (post on that forthcoming...) and we opted to stay in and cook. I once again went to my handy new cookbook by Rach (Look+Cook) and we settled on fresh Chicken Ragu...it was so yummy. And the fresh rosemary really sets it apart. The only thing I added was a can of drained fire roasted diced tomatoes because I just love extra tomatoes in a red sauce. I also shredded my carrot with my food processor in a about 20 seconds since we don't own a box grater. We served it with roasted asparagus and garlic toast. It was fabulous.

This also made a TON of food...I need to feed this to our college crowd sometime in the future. Definitely worth trying and if you can't tell yet I am a big fan of this cookbook! (Many more recipes from this book will be posted...)

Chicken Ragu

Ingredients

• Salt
• 1 pound whole-wheat or whole-grain rigatoni or other short cut pasta
• 3 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/4 pound pancetta, a couple thick slices, cut into fine dice
• 1 1/2 pounds chicken thighs, chopped into small bite-sized pieces
• 1 medium to large onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled
• 2 to 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves stripped and finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 to 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• Black pepper
• 1/2 cup Marsala, a couple glugs
• 1 (28 ounce) can San Marzano tomatoes
• Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• A handful of fresh basil leaves, torn

Yields: Serves 4

Preparation

Heat a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Salt the water when it boils and cook the pasta to al dente.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the EVOO over medium-high heat. Brown the pancetta for 3 to 4 minutes, then add another tablespoon of EVOO. Add the chicken and brown evenly for 5 to 6 minutes. Add the onions, rosemary, bay leaf, and garlic, then season with salt and pepper, then grate the carrot with a box grater directly into the pan and stir in. Cook until the vegetables are soft, 5 to 6 minutes.

Add the wine to the chicken and vegetables, stir and reduce for a minute, then add the tomatoes and crush them with a wooden spoon. Simmer for a few minutes to thicken the sauce and combine the flavors.

Drain the pasta and toss with the chicken ragu and cheese. Discard the bay leaf. Garnish with some torn basil. Serve immediately.