Smoked Chicken Fusilli

"Marry Me" pasta ~ creamy, savory pasta and shredded smoked chicken - good enough to make someone want to marry the cook.

Ingredients

• Fusilli Pasta  ·  1 pound 
• Prepared Smoked Chicken, pulled  ·  2 cups 
• Heavy Cream  ·  1 cup 
• Parmesan Cheese, grated  ·  1/2 cup 
• Williamson Wines Extra Virgin Olive Oil  ·  2 tablespoons 
• Butter  ·  2 tablespoons 
• Garlic, minced  ·  4 cloves 
• Herbie's Za'atar Seasoning  ·  2 tablespoons 
• Herbie's Freeze-Dried chives or fresh chives  ·  1 tablespoon 
• Fresh Basil Leaves, finely chopped  ·  1/4 cup 
• Salt & Pepper, to taste  ·   

Instructions

Begin, as all good pasta stories do, with a generous pot of well-salted water set to a lively boil. Slip in the fusilli and cook it until just al dente—tender, yet still with a pleasant bite. Drain the spirals, keeping back a small cup of their starchy cooking water, and set them aside to await their creamy fate.

In a wide skillet, melt a knob of butter into a splash of olive oil over a gentle heat. Add the minced garlic and let it warm through for a minute or so, just until its aroma rises invitingly—fragrant, but never browned, for scorched garlic is a most unforgiving companion.

Pour in the heavy cream and allow it to come to a soft, contented simmer. Whisk in the Parmesan until the sauce becomes silky and slightly thickened, the cheese melting into the cream as though it had always belonged there. Stir in the Herbie’s Za’atar seasoning and the freeze-dried chives, which will release their herbal perfume and quietly transform the sauce.

Fold in the pulled smoked chicken and the chopped basil, stirring with a light hand so that each tender shred of chicken is cloaked in cream and flecked with green. Add the drained fusilli to the pan and toss everything together until every curl of pasta is glossed with sauce. Should the mixture seem a little too thick—particularly if you plan to serve it at room temperature—loosen it with a splash of the reserved pasta water, which will bring everything back into a pleasing, velvety harmony.

Taste, adjust the seasoning with a discreet pinch of salt or pepper if needed, and then transfer the pasta to a serving bowl or individual plates. Finish with a single fresh basil leaf perched on top—an elegant, aromatic flourish—and serve with quiet satisfaction.