Chicken Ragu with Goat Cheese and Swiss Red Shard

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This is dish is absolutely fantastic! One afternoon during quarantine I was thinking about how much I’ve enjoyed making ragu dishes over the years and it occurred to me… “What about chicken thighs? Why not goat cheese? How about something green other than flat leaf Italian parsley?” Welp. This is it! Viola!

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Ingredients

5-6 chicken thighs. (I would get them with skin on and prep it that way, but the kids aren’t a fan so I go skinless).

1 large bunch of Red Swiss Shard

6 tbsp olive oil

Salt and Pepper

1 28 oz. can of Mutti whole peeled tomatoes

4 tbsp (or more!) Cento Double Concentrated Tomato Paste

1 purple onion

4-5 sliced garlic cloves

4 oz. diced pancetta

1-2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 pound Fusilli pasta

4 oz goat cheese “crumbles”

1/2 cup red wine (Chianti)

Directions

  1. Place the chicken thighs on a plate, pat dry, and salt and pepper both sides of each. Drizzle with olive oil. Add 3-4 tbsp olive oil to the braiser and turn to med-high. Add the chicken and brown both sides without cooking all the way through.

  2. Thinly slice the purple onion and garlic.

  3. Start boiling a pot of water for the Swiss shard.

  4. Pull the chicken. Add the onion and garlic to the pan to cook in the remaining oil and chicken fat at medium. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, add a pinch or two of red pepper flakes. Don’t break the veggies down to a goopy mess but just enough.

  5. Add pancetta and brown.

  6. Separate the leaves from the stalks of the shard and boil for a couple of minutes. Remove shard from the pot, put in a strainer and run ice cold water over the leaves until cold. Then dice the shard up thinly.

  7. Add shard to the caramelizing veggies.

  8. Hand crush all of the tomatoes, adding the remaining sauce from the can.

  9. Add 4 tbsp of tomato paste.

  10. Add red wine.

  11. Chop chicken to desired size and add to sauce. Salt and pepper.

  12. Boil Fusilli until al dente and then add to braiser stirring.

  13. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes.

  14. When you’re ready to eat, crumble goat cheese into the braiser, stirring in really well.

  15. Serve in warmed bowls with a nice crispy baguette and a nice Zinfandel.