A couple of years ago my Aunt Kathy made a similar dish to this one – which I just loved.  Rosemary, pasta, and cheese: definitely, some of my favorites.  She said that she found the recipe in Martha Stewart Living, but a few weeks later, when I looked for it online, I could not find it.  So I created my own rendition of the recipe as seen below.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Orecchiette Pasta
• 2 tbsp Butter
• 1-2 diced Chicken Breasts (omit chicken for vegetarian version)
• 1/4 cup Flour
• Salt and Pepper for seasoning
• 2 Cloves minced Garlic
• 1 cup Chicken Stock (vegetable stock for vegetarian rendition)
• 3-4 sprigs of coarsely chopped fresh Rosemary
• 1 cup of thickly grated Parmesan Cheese (use a regular sized cheese grater to grate your parmesan cheese instead of the finer rasper that is typically used for parmesan cheese)

Directions:

1. Cook the orecchiette pasta as you would ordinarily cook your pasta.  Following the directions on the packaging as needed.
2. While the orecchiette is cooking, melt the butter in a skillet.
3. Dredge your chicken in the flour, and season it with some salt and pepper.
4. Brown your chicken in the butter. (for the vegetarian version pour the flour directly into the melted butter to make a roux)
5. Add any excess flour into the skillet along with the chicken.
6. Add the garlic.  Continue to cook the garlic until it starts to brown slightly.  Make sure you do not burn it.
7. Pour the stock into the skillet.
8. Add the Rosemary.
9. Allow the liquid to cook down slightly and thicken into a sauce (~5-7 minutes).  You should make sure that the chicken is fully cooked at this time.
10. In a large serving dish combine the drained orecchiette, the chicken rosemary sauce, and the grated parmesan cheese.  The cheese should melt into the sauce and orecchiette.