Every place has its pasta, and when it comes to central western upstate New York, there’s no exception. Utica Chicken Riggies is a hearty pasta dish that checks off all of the boxes. The creamy tomato sauce has a spicy kick, the veggies are peppered throughout, and seared the pieces of chicken make it feel like a complete meal.

The name Chicken Riggies doesn’t reveal the whole depth of this dish. Riggies is a shortened nickname for rigatoni pasta. In the Mohawk Valley’s Oneida County near the I-90 corridor, this pasta reigns supreme in countless restaurants and homes. Italian immigrants moving through and out of Manhattan settled north, but not without some cooking from their home country. Southern Italy’s fresh seasonal cuisine fused with hearty rib-sticking ingredients to battle central New York’s intense seasons, creating this now all-year-round delicacy.

This dish starts by searing the pieces of cut-up chicken breasts. You don’t have to worry too much about cooking the chicken, you just want to get a good color on the outside.

Next, remove the chicken from the pan and cook the onions and peppers in the remaining grease. I know that doesn’t sound pleasant, but cooking the vegetables in the rendered fat builds layers of flavor.

Once everything starts getting softened, you go and add in the spices. Some recipes have an ingredient list as long as a child’s Christmas wish list, but I tried to shorten it as much as possible. What makes this dish different from your average pasta recipe is the spice. Cayenne, chili flakes, and chipotle in adobo sauce flavor the sauce with a deep heat that bites, but doesn’t overpower. The chipotle is the first flavor, next is the sharp kick of cayenne, and then the chili powder rounds everything out with a soft warmth.

After that, tomato sauce, cream, and the seared chicken all jump into the pan. When you add everything in, make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan, this will incorporate all of the good crispy bits.

Let everything come to a simmer, and then add in the precooked pasta. I cooked my pasta a little under al dente. The pasta will finish cooking in the sauce, which will make it even more flavorful. If you want, you can add a ladle full of pasta water as well, this will bind the pasta and sauce together.

Now comes the best part — the cheese. Turn off the heat and then add the grated parmesan cheese. If you haven’t already sneaked a bite of the pasta, you‘ll definitely want to try it now.

The heavy cream and parmesan cheese are liaisons between the bright tomato sauce and the spicy kick of chili heat. Chicken throughout the dish makes the recipe feel like a complete one-pot meal, no need to cook anything extra with this recipe!