Habanero Pasta with chicken

We grew a habanero plant in the garden last year.  In the middle of the summer it exploded, not literally.  Honestly it grew to twice it's size in about a week, so it was about 5 feet tall.  With all these Habaneros we had to figure out something to do with them other than make jelly, which is another story.

I originally got this recipe off of food network from Emeril. His recipes always work, unlike many of the other recipes on the site. I've simplified it some and made it my own.

  Start by cubing a few chicken breasts and toss them in so essence, or other all purpose spice mix.  Shrimp is an excellent choice as well.  Slice an onion and saute in some olive oil and butter.  Add one minced habanero pepper (wear gloves when you mince this puppy, or you'll be sorry) and a few cloves of minces garlic.    Let this cook for a minute or two until the garlic is not raw and is slightly brown.  Add 2 cups of heavy cream and 1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes, drained.   Bring to a simmer.  Add the chicken or shrimp back and simmer for about 15 minutes until the cream is reduced by about 1/2.  While this is happening boil some linguine, according to the package directions.  I really like spinach linguine, mostly for the color.  Drain  the pasta, leave a little bit of the past water in the pot, about 1/2 a cup.  Add the chicken and cream mix to the pasta, toss in a hand full of chopped parsley and the green tops of a bunch of scallions, and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.  Now you're ready to eat.  I put the pasta in bowls and top with some more parm, scallion, and parsley.  It has to look pretty if I'm going to eat it.