Spicy Chicken Pasta with Bacon

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I wanted to try something a bit different to night with a pasta dish.  Instead of making a sauce and cooking it all day long, I decided to try a quick sauce of tomato paste and the starchy water I cooked the pasta in.  It turned out wonderfully thick and was easy to change the constancy I was looking for by adding a bit more of the pasta water at a time.  I think next time I will use my Oven Roasted Tomatoes in the sauce instead of the canned.

Ingredients:

• 6 strips of bacon diced
• 2 chicken breasts diced (1 inch cubes)   Springer Mountain Farms
• 2 medium scallions
• 1 large jalapeño pepper (seeds removed for less spicy)
• 1/2 can tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic diced
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) fire roasted roasted tomatoes-drained
• 1 box rigatoni pasta
• 6-10 basil leaves chopped
• 1/2 cup shaved parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper taste if you like

1. Sauté the diced bacon in a large pan.
2. Slice scallions and jalapeño pepper thin and add to the bacon along with red pepper flakes.  Cook till almost translucent.
3. Add the tomato paste and diced garlic and cook 3-4 minutes till you have a nice reddish brown paste of tomato paste and onion/pepper.
4. Boil pasta in heavy salted water. (don’t dispose of water once cooked)
5. Add about 1/4 cup of the pasta water, fire roasted tomatoes and the smoked paprika to the bacon-tomato mixture and stir well to combine.
6. Once pasta comes to desired tenderness, add to the pan with the bacon-tomato mixture and mix well along with all but about 2 tablespoons each of the basil and parmesan cheese.
7. You may want to add a bit more of the reserved pasta water to obtain desired consistency of the sauce.
8. Pile on large platter (family style) and sprinkle with the remaining basil and parmesan cheese.