Chicken and Eggplant with Saffron and Tomato with Barilla Rigatoni

Blanching method:

1. Thaw/Slack pasta on sheet trays in a single layer for at least 1 hour
2. Add pasta to boiling salted water and blanch for 45 seconds
3. Drain pasta and combine with sauce

NOTE:

If cooking for immediate service add 30 seconds additional cook time

Sauce method (64oz sauce 64oz pasta):

1. Thaw/Slack pasta on sheet trays in a single layer for at least 1 hour
2. Bring your sauce to a simmer and add 1 cup of water for every 32oz of sauce
3. Add the slacked pasta and cook for 2 minutes and 30 seconds in the simmering sauce

Impinger oven (set to 500°F):

7″ round aluminum tin

1. Thaw/Slack pasta on sheet trays in a single layer for at least 1 hour
2. Combine 4 oz pasta with 8 oz sauce
3. Add the contents to a 7″ round aluminum tin

4. Cook covered for 9 min (1.5x through the oven)

9″ round aluminum tin

1. Thaw/Slack pasta on sheet trays in a single layer for at least 1 hour
2. Combine 6 oz pasta with 12 oz sauce
3. Add the contents to a 7″ round aluminum tin
4. Cook covered for 9 min (1.5x through the oven)

Steamer Method:

Full hotel pan (2 inch deep )

1. Thaw/Slack pasta on sheet trays in a single layer for at least 1 hour
2. Combine 40 oz of pasta and 80 of sauce in full hotel pan and cover tightly with plastic wrap and foil
3. Steam for 17 minutes on full steam

Half pan (2 inch deep)

1. Thaw/Slack pasta on sheet trays in a single layer for at least 1 hour
2. Combine 20 oz of pasta and 40 of sauce in a half hotel pan and cover tightly with plastic wrap and foil
3. Steam for 17 minutes on full steam

Microwave Method:

1. Thaw/Slack the pasta on sheet trays in a single later for at least 1 hour
2. Add 7 oz of pasta and 7 oz of sauce a long with 1/4 cup of water and mix.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 2 minutes
4. Remove from microwave and carefully uncover, stir then cover again.
5. Microwave on high for an additional 1 minute.
6. Remove from microwave and transfer to serving dish or delivery packaging

1. Boil, in salted water, 3lb Barilla Rigatoni Pasta for 11 minutes (one min. less than recommended), Reserve.
2. In a large cast iron dutch oven or rondeau, add EVOO and onions along with salt. Turn heat to medium high and cook onions until lightly browned. Be sure to stir continuously to prevent burning.
3. Add Chicken, stir to parch outside. No color on chicken. 
4. Add turmeric. There should still be oil in the pan, if need be, add a little more so that the turmeric can cook for 2 minutes on some oil until fragrant.
5. Add garlic, stir to incorporate.
6. Add tomatoes and saffron mixture. Stir well to incorporate. 
7. At this stage, reduce heat to medium low. Stirr frequently and scrap bottom of the pot to ensure nothing is sticking. As the dish simmers, break up the whole tomatoes.
8. Reduce stew until a thick sauce consistency. Check seasoning.
9. While the sauce is simmering, in a separate large sautee pan or rondeau, add 5 cups EVOO and bring to a shimmer over high heat. Add rinsed and well drained eggplant dice to the oil and brown. Do not over cook, still needs to be firm.
10. Once sauce is finished, remove from heat, fold in fried eggplant, add fresh chopped basil and mint along with lemon juice. Fold in cooked Rigatoni to incorporate.
11. Serve family style with lemons.

Chef Notes:   

This is a modification of a traditional Iranian dish called Khoresh Bademjan, which is an eggplant stew very much like the above recipe but usually made with beef instead of chicken and sour grapes and black limes instead of lemon juice. Well, I couldn’t find sour grapes or black limes very easily around here and an Iranian friend suggested I just used lemon juice. Apparently his mom said it’s ok. Mamma knows best! So I substituted beef for Americas favorite meat, chicken. This dish is typically served with rice as is most Iranian cuisine, but I have to say it is quite nice with the pasta. There is a lot of flavor from the saffron and turmeric. The fresh herbs and lemon juice add brightness to the dish. I was very happy with how this came out! I had to tiptoe my way through this a few times and as it is with everything we cook, it takes tasting and adjusting here and there. I let my friend try it and he said it was very similar to his Khoresh Bademjan and he liked it with the pasta. So I took that as a win!