Radiatore al Basil with Chicken

Pasta comes in so many shapes and sizes it is hard to get bored with.  During our turkey runs this year I bought a box of 100% durum semolina radiatore pasta.  Radiatori are small, squat shaped pasta with a ruffled edge that resemble radiators.  This shape works well with thicker sauces.  Tonight's dinner was inspired by a recipe on the back of the radiatore box called Radiatore al Basil.  Rather than a side dish I went with the basil theme to create an entrée.

When cooked the tight curls of radiatori reminded me of snails so I think it would be a fun pasta for kids.  This would be an excellent pasta to use with any cheese sauce too because there are so many nooks and crannies to hold all the sauce.  I was quite pleased at how well the radiatori held the basil pesto giving the pasta a lovely under note to compliment the fire roasted Italian tomato sauce.  This really was a delightful entrée!

Radiatore al Basil with Chicken

16 oz pk radiatore
2 c fire roasted Italian tomato sauce with mushrooms
2 small chicken breasts
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp per serving basil pesto

toppings:
small onion, diced
sliced olives
cherry tomatoes, halved
fresh grated Parmesan cheese
fresh ground black pepper

Cook the radiatore in salted boiling water until al dente.  Drain.  While pasta is cooking pan fry the chicken breasts in the olive oil.  Remove from pan and cut into bite sized pieces.  Stir desired amount of basil pesto into the radiatore.  Scoop pasta onto dinner plate.  Ladle a generous amount of the fire roasted Italian tomato sauce with mushrooms over the pasta.  Add desired toppings.