Pimentón Pasta

Mark Bittman's been talking about pimentón (spanish smoked pepper, kind of like paprika) for ages, and last week I finally bought a tin. Besides...it smelled sooooo wonderful, I couldn't resist. Brought back memories of my favorite Pennsyltucky potato chips (which I can't buy in NYC): Middleswarth BBQ.

I've been playing a bit, and today threw together a pasta dish with some leftovers hanging out in the fridge:

Pimentón Pasta
serves 1

about 1/2 cup dried fusilli pasta (about two small handfuls, use whatever pasta you like)
1/4 cup shredded chicken
1/4 cup diced, cooked portobello mushrooms
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp. herbes de Provence (French style, without lavender! Or, substitute dried basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano, marjoram combo to taste)
1/8 tsp. sweet pimentón
1/4 tsp. hot red pepper flakes (or less, to taste)
salt to taste

Cook fusilli in boiling salted water. In the meantime, heat olive oil in a sauté pan. Add chicken and pimentón and saute for a minute or two. Add herbes, mushrooms, red pepper, and salt, and sauté until hot. Add cooked, drained pasta and toss to coat. Serve!