Made a tomato chicken pasta last night, pretty happy with the result. Few steps involved, though overall it's pretty fast; took me about 30 mins from knives out to chow down.
2-3 servings, depending on appetite
Ingredients
Pangrattato
2 cloves of garlic,
2-3 sundried tomatoes,
3-4 kalamata olives (pitted)
1 tsp of herbs of choice (I used thyme, but honestly, I think rosemary would have worked better)
Some black pepper
Breadcrumbs
Extra virgin olive oil
Main Dish
2-300g chicken breast, diced
5-6 sundried tomatoes, sliced into strips
~10 olives (pitted, halved)
1/2 Onion, sliced
Balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon brown sugar
Salt + Pepper
Basil leaves and cheese as garnish (I only had cheddar, but I expect both parmesan and a sharp greek feta would work well, in different ways)
Penne pasta
Method
Mix chicken, pepper and EVOO (I used the oil from the jar of tomatoes, so it had some flavouring); some fresh rosemary here probably wouldn't hurt either, come to think of it.
Next, blend all the ingredients of the pangrattato in a food processor, starting without the breadcrumbs and EVOO; once ingredients are blended finely, add these in slowly. Desired texture is distinct breadcrumbs, but with enough moisture to hold if squeezed tightly together.
Fry this mixture off in a skillet under aromatic and just starting to toast, then put to one side.
Put penne pasta on to boil (remember to salt, and a bayleaf doesn't hurt, but it's hardly necessary). It should be done around the same time as your finishing up.
Next, caramelise onion; cook till brown in some EVOO, then deglase pan with balsamic (and maybe some water, if there's too much pan to deglase without the vinegar getting overpowering) and add the brown sugar. Continue cooking and occasionally deglasing if necessary until onions are sweet and caramelly, add the olives and tomatoes and cook for five more minutes, then scrape out as best you can and put aside.
Heat skillet to roaring hot, then fry off the chicken a handful at a time. Move it constantly and don't overcook it; you want it brown on the outside, but still juicy and tender on the inside. Take each batch out as it's done.
Kill the heat to the pan, then through in a tablespoon or so of the pasta water, along with all the cooked chicken, pasta, and about 3/4s of the pangrattato. Stir thoroughly, then plate up. Garnish with basil, cheese and remaining pannograttato, and enjoy!
It worked really well, still tasted amazing at work the next day (even sans cheese) and, given the flavours, could easily be made vegetarian or even vegan by substituting in eggplant for the chicken!