Vegan Chicken Riggies. When I think of Utica, I think of that episode of the Office where they go there to prank Karen. Anyway, this is a pasta dish native to Utica. Rigatoni, vegan chicken and a spicy, creamy sauce.

As always, if you dig this recipe, tag me at @draggedthroughthegarden on instagram and we can talk about how Jim was the worst character on the Office.

Vegan Chicken Riggies. Riggilicious.

VEGAN CHICKEN RIGGIES

prep time: 10 minutes
cook time: 30 minutes

With fresh basil for color.

This one requires you to make a thicc pepper-heavy sauce, some vegan chicken and some riggies….rigatoni.

We’ll start with the sauce. Every ingredient below is implied vegan so I don’t have to keep saying it.

What you’ll need:

garlic
onion
olive oil
butter
roasted red pepper
cherry peppers
red fresno peppers (optional)
mushrooms (optional)
canned, crushed tomatoes
tomato paste
salt
pepper
red pepper flakes
dried basil
dried oregano
black olives (optional)
corn starch (optional)
oat milk

Dice up a medium sized onion. Dice up as much garlic as you want. Dice up some mushrooms too.

Add some olive oil into a saucepan and bring it up to a medium flame. Toss in your onion and cook for a minute and then add your garlic.

You’re not done. Add salt to the onions and garlic to draw out some of their moisture and let those go for another minute or two. Then add your mushrooms and let them cook out too. Add a few cracks of black pepper and some dried red pepper flakes. Toss a knob of butter in there.

(If you’re roasting your own red peppers, add your pepper to one of the burners of your stove, char it and once cooled, peel the charred skin off of it.)

Next, get your roasted red peppers and slice them up and chop them up. I dapped mine with a paper towel to capture some of the moisture.

Don’t mind the mushrooms, I cut up too many.

Add your red pepper to the saucepan. Get out some cherry peppers and seed those and dice em up too. You can leave some seeds in there for spice. Dice up a few fresno chilies if you have some on deck. Add those too.

Now give your pan full of peppers and stuff a good stir. Let that continue to cook. Open up a can of crushed tomatoes. I used a 14oz can of fire-roasted tomatoes. Toss that in there and then fill the can halfway with water and add the water to the mixture as well. Squeeze a generous squeeze of tomato paste in too.

Now you have a somewhat cohesive sauce going that looks kinda like puttanesca.

Throw some dried basil and dried oregano in there, bring the whole thing up to a boil and then cover and drop to a simmer.

Next it’s time to assemble, well, the other parts of the dish.

What you’ll need:

vegan chicken
salt
pepper
smoked paprika
garlic powder
olive oil
rigatoni
fresh basil
vegan parm

Add olive oil to a frying pan and stick your chicken in there once the oil is smoking. Give it a toss so your chicken is thoroughly coated in oil. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika.

I was using one spoon. Also didn’t add the seasoning until after the photo.

While that’s cooking, toss on occasion. Get out a pot because now it’s rigatoni time.

In an appropriately-sized pot, add water and a generous pinch of salt. Add your rigatoni. Stir to prevent sticking and then cook your rigatoni until al dente.

Pull your chicken out of the pan and set aside.

Pop open the lid on your sauce and give it a stir. If it’s super runny, add a pinch of cornstarch. Make sure the bottom of the pan isn’t caked with stuff. Add oat milk into the mix or heavy cream if you have it.

Drain your pasta and add a splash of pasta water to your sauce.

Stir and continue to add cream until a nice, pinkish hue is achieved. Once that’s the case, add your chicken into the mix and stir that up. Add black olives if you want.

Dice up some fresh basil and cherry peppers like you used earlier. These will be garnish at the end. Grate up some vegan parm. Add some of it to the sauce and keep some aside for garnish as well.

Add your rigatoni to the sauce and stir until everything is coated. Let that ride for a few so the pasta can absorb all the sauce you worked so hard on.

Let your pasta cook within the sauce and stir as needed. If the sauce requires a little more creaminess, add a dollop of plain yogurt. Yes, for real. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pull out a nice scoop from the pan and stick it on a plate. Or in a bowl. Add your basil and peppers and toss some of that cheese on there.

Now if you dug this recipe, share it with a friend. Tag me on instagram at @draggedthroughthegarden. Share it with two friends. Share it with Rachael Ray.