Your "other half" calls to say friends are coming over for dinner - tonight! Take a deep breath and make this easy pasta dish.
Grab a freshly prepared rotisserie chicken at the grocer. Remove skin and pull all of the chicken (light and dark) off the bone and break it up in to small pieces. Put chicken in bowl and set aside.
Cut up 2-3 fresh tomatoes. Finely chop a handful of fresh basil. Grate a 1 - 1 1/2 cups of good Parmesan or Reggiano cheese. Put each of these in separate bowls and set aside.
Boil 1 box of bowtie pasta - be sure to add a bit of salt to the water. Strain and set aside. While your pasta is cooking, in a large frying pan, saute 3-4 tablespoons of good extra virgin olive oil with 2-3 cloves of garlic and about 1 tsp chili pepper flakes. Mix until it makes a nice light spicy oil sauce. Season with kosher salt and pepper.
In a huge bowl, dump (in this order) bowties, chicken, tomatoes, basil, and toss together lightly. Drizzle the olive oil sauce over the top and mix again. Finally, mix in your grated cheese. Voila! Put more grated cheese on the table for others to add to taste. Serve with a fresh crusty baguette, maybe a salad... you're golden!
This never fails to wow guests and it is awesome the next day COLD. Happy weekend.
Serves 4
