If you make this recipe use Grated Parmesan. This is just to show what I did with the "Gouda" mistake.
Chicken Linguini with Shredded "Gouda"
I am a cheese lover and as most of you know the specialty cheeses can be quite pricey. A few months ago I began making some of my own cheese. I had great luck with Mozzarella, cream cheese and some of the other soft cheeses, but when it came to the Gouda...not so hot. After 4 months of aging my Gouda brick was as hard as Parmesan. I almost threw it out, but then chopped a piece off and tasted. It was good! It reminded me very much of parmesan in taste and texture. So I decided to chop it up and crumble it to use in my salads and other toppings.
Then came a need to use up some cooked chicken breast that I had boiled to make stock, and I thought I might try that "wanna be Gouda" in place of parmesan cheese in my recipe. So ...this is how it went.....
Let's get cookin'!
INGREDIENTS:
2 small cooked chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
1 Small bunch Parsley (chopped)
2 shallots (chopped small)
3-4 Garlic cloves (chopped small)
1/2 Lb. Linguini pasta
1/4 C. Extra Virgin Olive oil (more or less as you like)
1/2 Lemon
Grated Parmesan or Other Cheese (I use Gouda here)
Salt and Pepper to taste. (Be careful on the salt because the pasta is salted in the cooking water and the cheese is salty too.)
Prep time was about 20 minutes. Cook time is about 15-20 minutes. Based on what I ended up with, this recipe easily would serve two. (I went back for a heaping seconds and had enough left over for lunch tomorrow.)
(Note: I usually use flat leaf parsley, but it is more often than not out of stock or wilted when I go shopping. I had to substitute with Curly leaf Parsley here.
Oh, how I miss my herb Garden in the winter.)
Begin by getting some water boiling for your pasta. Add some salt to the water to flavor the pasta.
Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Add pasta to the boiling water and while that is cooking add your chopped garlic and shallots to the heated olive oil. Cook them for a few minutes till they are soft and fragrant, don't burn the garlic because it will turn bitter on you.
Stir your pasta once or twice to be sure it isn't sticking.
Add the cooked chicken breast to the pan and cook until it just slightly browned on some edges. This will take a few minutes. Take a piece of pasta and test it for doneness. You want it just slightly undercooked. It will cook more in the pan when you add it to the other ingredients.
Turn the heat down to low on the chicken.
Now remove your pasta from the water and add it to the chicken. No need to drain it, we want some of that pasta water. As soon as all of the pasta is in, give it a quick toss around the pan to mix things up.
Now take a small ladle of the pasta water and add it to the pasta. Toss the mixture well in the pan. The water will add moistness as well as get all of the little flavorful bits stuck to the bottom of the pan that the other ingredients left behind.
Add the chopped parsley, salt ( taste first to see if any is needed) and fresh ground black pepper. Mix it all together.
Squeeze in 1/2 of a lemon. Check for seeds before squeezing, it is no fun chomping down on a lemon seed when you didn't expect it. Turn off the heat.
Toss the mixture. You can add some of the cheese now if you like.
Did you zest that lemon half before using it?? You should have! Leave the zest out to dry and then put it in jars to use for salad toppings and lots of other things. I keep a jar of Lemon and Orange zest on my spice shelf. Also, you can freeze fresh lemon zest to add to recipes later.
Transfer to a serving platter or bowl and top with the remaining cheese and some sprigs of parsley. Drizzle a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil over the top if you like.
Ending Notes: I am a garlic lover, next time I make this I will use a couple more cloves of garlic and a couple more shallots. I think the lemon amount was just right. I am very careful about that, having tried some of Giada De Laurentiis' recipes using her suggested amounts of lemon...made me pucker! I know now just how much I can personally handle without the whole dish tasting sour and overpowered by the lemon.
The "Wanna be Gouda" was nice, it added a bit of salty/nutty flavor and the larger bits added a soft crunch factor for a nice texture to the dish.
The olive oil I use is Bertolli Extra Virgin. It's the best I can find in my town. And I STILL cannot find Arugula here! I came close on my shopping trip today, there was a pack of mixed arugula and baby spinach leaves. Unfortunately the Arugula was brown on the edges and wilted.
When I make chicken stock I cook the chicken until the pink has just gone. Then I take it out, remove the skin and freeze the pieces for later. Knowing I am going to be cooking them slightly again, I don't want to overcook them during the stock making process.
