Requiring just 30 minutes of simmering, this is the ragù to make any old night. Made with chicken, it is lighter than traditional ragù, but has strong flavors from butter, anchovies, rosemary, garlic and a hefty kick of red-pepper flakes. (You can use less if that scares you.) With such a savory base of ingredients, you can skip browning the chicken and still be rewarded with juicy meat that willingly shreds when pulled with forks. The silky sauce and delicate strands of chicken like to twirl with long noodles, but they would also be great over polenta, mashed potatoes, white beans or farro. Meal planners, you should know that this recipe makes 6 cups of sauce and will keep 3 days refrigerated — and improves with time.

Rosemary Chicken Ragù

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 3 tablespoons tomato paste

• 6 garlic cloves, finely grated or chopped

• 4 anchovy fillets

• 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

• 1 rosemary sprig (or 3/4 teaspoon dried)

• 1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)

• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed or whole tomatoes

• Salt

• 1 pound long noodles such as pappardelle or fettuccine

• Grated Parmesan, for serving

Directions:

Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium. Add the tomato paste, garlic, anchovies, red-pepper flakes and rosemary. Stir until the tomato paste is a shade darker and sticking to the bottom of the pot, 2 to 4 minutes. If you have some white wine open, add 1/2 cup and simmer until nearly all evaporated, 2 to 4 minutes.

Add the chicken and tomatoes and season generously with salt. If using whole tomatoes, break them up with your spoon. It may not seem like a lot of liquid, but the chicken will give off juices in time. Bring to a boil over medium-high, then reduce heat to gently simmer over medium-low until the chicken’s cooked through and the sauce is flavorful, 30 to 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

When the chicken is ready, turn off the heat under the sauce. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water, then drain the pasta. While the pasta’s cooking, remove the rosemary from the sauce. Using two forks, shred the chicken right in the pot. Taste and adjust with salt. Return to medium-low to keep warm and thicken slightly until the pasta is ready. (Some chicken is so juicy that the sauce might seem thin; just simmer it until it’s thickened.)

Add the pasta to the sauce and toss assertively over medium-high until the pasta is well coated. Add pasta water as needed to help the sauce cling to the pasta. Serve with grated Parmesan on top.

Total time: About 1 hour, serves 4.