Fra Diavolo - Ghost Chile Style

I have been wanting to make this dish, Fra Diavolo, that I enjoyed at the Southlake Brio Tuscan Grille when visiting my sister Mary and her family in Texas. It is a spicy pasta dish usually prepared with chicken, shrimp or lobster.  The sauce was amazing and I wanted to recreate that silkiness. 

While shopping one night recently at the Foodie Walk in Old Town Fort Collins, the Rocky Mountain Olive Oil company had a pasta for sale called Fire! The Devil's Angel Hair and I just had to buy it! I thought immediately of the Fra Diavolo and was determined to finally make this recipe! While the Brio Fra Diavolo is made with penne, I figure any pasta you like will do. 

I searched for the Brio recipe, it's really the sauce that makes the dish, and found one online from Tucson Channel News 4 who had a lunch segment with the chef from the local Brio.  Guess what he is making? Could I be so lucky??!!!  Fra Diavolo!! So, I watched him make it and then printed the recipe. It calls for Alfredo sauce and Marinara sauce, both of which I would be happy to make from scratch, but time constraints what they are, I opted for quality bottled versions. 

Below is the recipe and accompanying photos of my attempt at this delicious dish:


1.  Start with quality ingredients - recipe is super simple, not many are required, heat factor is to your liking....

2. Saute garlic in olive oil in a deep skillet, add chicken after a couple minutes.  My vegetarian friends, you could attempt this recipe with some firm tofu perhaps cut into bite size pieces. I may have to make that variation sometime in the near future, or you could omit the protein altogether.  

3. Our choice(s) of heat - dried Ghost Chile and Mild Chile Threads. Trust me, a little goes a looong way! I should have heeded my original instinct and used only half the Ghost. My sinuses are loving me tonight though! 

4. Saute chiles with chicken, garlic and oil. Seriously mouth watering at this point! 

5. Add the alfredo and marinara sauces and let simmer for 10 minutes.  I substituted real butter for the lobster butter in the recipe, which I did not have a desire to use. 

mmmmmmmmm...silky and creamy! 

 6.  Add cooked pasta to the dish and combine well. I found I used too much pasta, rookie error, I should have added a little at a time to get the right portions.  Lesson learned.

7.  Fini!   Enjoy with a salad or other favorite accompaniments...This was truly a great dish that I will make again with a few tweeks to the recipe.  You have to start somewhere, and I was pleased with the overall dish. 

I chose a Chardonnay, but certainly that is to your taste as well! 

Here's to eating with intention! 

  Chicken Fra Diavolo - Brio Tuscan Grille in Tucson recipe 

1/2 oz oil
1/2 tsp chopped garlic
1/4 tsp chili flakes
3 oz cooked sliced chicken
2 oz marinara sauce
4 oz alfredo sauce
2 #60 scoops lobster butter
pinch of salt and pepper
7 oz penne pasta
1 tbsp green onions

The build:
In a saute pan heat 1/2 oz oil.
Saute chicken, garlic and chili flakes, until heated through.
Add marinara sauce and alfredo sauce to the pan and heat.
Add the lobster butter and heat until butter is incorperated.
Season with salt and pepper.
Add the penne pasta and toss to combine.
Garnish with green onions.