Lidia's Recipe: Rustic Tomato Sauce With Pasta And Chicken

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- David Highfield is recreating one of Chef Lidia Bastianich's recipes, but he's putting his own twist on it!

Rustic Tomato Sauce with Pasta and Chicken

Ingredients:

• Grape or Cherry Tomatoes
• Pasta (He uses Bow Tie)
• Chicken Tenders
• Fresh Rosemary
• Fresh Basil
• Fresh Thyme
• Parmesan Cheese
• Ricotta Cheese
• Italian Herb Seasoning
• 5 or 6 Garlic Cloves
• Olive Oil
• Sugar
• Salt

Chicken:
- Cook the chicken in a skillet with olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary
- Set chicken aside, but later, you'll chop into piece and add to the pasta

Pasta:
- Get water boiling in a pot and add pasta
- Time this so you can add the pasta to the sauce when it's not quite done, so it can continue cooking in the saucepan

Sauce:
- Pour olive oil across the bottom of a saucepan with medium heat
- Crush five or six garlic cloves and add them in
- Add four sprigs of rosemary
- Add grape or cherry tomatoes
- After the tomatoes cook for a while, add a ladle of pasta water
- Salt tomatoes and add a spoonful of sugar as well
- Begin mashing the tomatoes with a potato masher
- After cooking for a while, remove the rosemary sprigs and garlic cloves
- Add the pasta and allow it to finish cooking
- Stir in the chicken
- Grind in some Italian herb seasoning
- Drizzle olive oil over top
- Tear apart a few leaves of fresh basil and add them in
- Stir
- Turn off the heat
- Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top

To Serve:
- Place portion into a bowl
- Add a dollop of ricotta cheese
- Add basil leaves
- Drizzle olive oil over ricotta
- Enjoy