Utica Chicken Riggies

Chicken Riggies is Utica, NY's culinary claim to fame. It's rigatoni pasta in a mildly spicy blush sauce. It's up for debate who invented it with many Utica area restaurants taking credit. There are various versions. Some use sweet peppers where some use hot. Some add mushrooms and black olives. This is my favorite version.

You'll need:

1 lb rigatoni
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cubanelle pepper, seeded, quartered and thinly sliced
3 roasted red peppers, drained and chopped (about the equivalent of one jar)
2 hot cherry peppers, seeded and minced
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper
parmesan cheese (optional)


Cook rigatoni in salted water. Drain and keep warm. Cut chicken into bite size pieces and season with salt and pepper.

Heat oil over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook until browned on all sides and cooked through, about 7 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and cover with foil. 

Add onion, garlic and cubanelle pepper to the pan. As I always do, I use a zester to grate the garlic rather than mince it with a knife. It's much faster and avoids offensive chunks of garlic. Cook until onion is softened, about 4 minutes. 

Stir in red peppers, cherry peppers and tomatoes. I purchased a jar of minced hot cherry peppers and added two heaping spoonfuls.

Bring to a simmer then stir in cream. Add chicken and simmer 3-4 minutes. Stir in pasta. Serve with grated parmesan cheese, if desired. 

I love Chicken Riggies. It's a true comfort food and it always makes me feel like a kid again. This is one of those recipes that's pretty easy if you do the prep-work ahead of time. Once the chicken is prepared and the peppers are all chopped, it comes together pretty quickly. If you have a chance to prep the day before, this would come together in less than half an hour. Enjoy!