While there is a template on how to make chicken riggies, this dish allows you to get creative and have fun. For example, don’t have cherry peppers? Use Calabrian chiles (seeds removed unless you love the heat!) or wax peppers instead. Prefer another white wine over sherry? That’s A-OK, too.

If you absolutely love this recipe, consider making extra sauce and meat and using it for stuffed shells or simply serving it up with crusty slices of bread.

Ingredients for Chicken Riggies

• Sherry: Produced in Spain, sherry is a fortified wine that’s popular as an aperitif and for cooking. While the alcohol evaporates during the cooking process, its deep flavor and aroma remains.
• Olive oil: It’s used in the marinade for the chicken, so choose an olive oil that you would eat simply drizzled on a salad—it’s important you enjoy its flavor!
• Garlic: Also used in the marinade, garlic adds a savory, pungent flavor. Feel free to use as much or as little as you’d like.
• Dried oregano: Although there are many varieties of oregano, you’re most likely to find Mexican and Greek oregano at your store. The former tends to have a stronger and more peppery flavor than the latter.
• Chicken: You may want to flatten the chicken into 1/4-inch-thick pieces before adding it to the marinade. Doing this not only helps develop more flavor, but the chicken will likely yield a better texture when cooked.
• Rigatoni: This pasta shape is big, tubular and hearty. It’s ideal for pairing with chunky or meaty sauces.
• Butter: The butter is creamy, slightly sweet and nutty in flavor. But you can substitute it with olive oil or schmaltz.
• Bell pepper: Sweet and vegetal in taste, bell peppers also add a dose of color.
• Pickled cherry pepper: The potent and moderately spicy flavor of pickled cherry peppers will brighten and enhance the other ingredients in this dish.
• Onion: Many recipes begin with sauteed onion and for good reason! It’s a very aromatic and compatible veggie to pair with a variety of ingredients.
• Tomato puree: Tomatoes pack a lot of savory umami flavor. San Marzano tomatoes are a perfect option for this recipe.
• Heavy whipping cream: The creamy and sweet profile of heavy cream makes a dish a whole lot more satisfying. You don’t need much of it to make a big difference.
• Cream cheese: This ingredient helps cohere the sauce and of course add flavor. If you prefer, you can use ricotta or mascarpone.
• Romano cheese: Made from sheep’s milk, Romano is often compared to Parmesan but the two are meaningfully different. Romano is sharper in flavor and generally better for slicing, not grating.

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