Today, I want to introduce chicken, shrimp, and chorizo to a wonderful cream sauce of onion, green pepper, and button mushroom, in highlighting our linguine pasta. The marriage of flavors is delightful and will certainly satisfy every member of the family. Accented with a touch of sauteed chopped bacon, this dish sits just outside of the Carbonara family, since we will not be using eggs. With the Spanish influence of the chorizo in this dish, I have decided to call it Linguine Espagnol.
OK, you know the drill, let's get all our ingredients together and prepare for cooking. First, a word about chorizo. It is important that we use this saussage as opposed to Italian or Mexican saussage, otherwise I would have to call this dish something else. Chorizo has a distinct flavor, with all the different spices that were used to make it. Trust me, you will enjoy it.
This recipe will serve a party of 4:
16 oz. package of dry linguine
1 lb. chicken breast, sliced (or fresh chicken breast tenders already sliced for you)
3/4 lb. chorizo in casing (about 4 links), sliced in 3/4 inch pieces
3 strips plain, lean bacon, sliced in 1/2 inch slices
1/2 lb medium size shrimp
1 medium white onion, chopped or sliced
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 cup sliced button mushrooms
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon crushed pepper
(have salt ready; however, I don't think you'll need any)
In a 10" (bottom diameter) or larger pan, saute the bacon over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Remove and drain on a paper towel. Discard any excess drippings from the pan. Return pan to medium heat and saute the chorizo with 1/2 of the olive oil for about 4 minutes or until browned. With your spatula, move it over to one half of the pan and add your chicken. Keeping the heat at medium, lightly brown the chicken and then stir both meats together so that chicken gets coated with the oils from the chorizo. Continue the saute for a few more minutes and then remove meat and set aside in a bowl.
Continuing over medium heat, add the other half of the olive oil (if you feel you need to) and saute the onions, peppers, and garlic. Cook until onions and pepper nicely soften and then add your mushrooms. Mix all the vegetables well with your spatula. Now sprinkle the flour over all the vegetables and after flour is well incorporated into the vegetables, add your chicken stock and carefully scrape the bottom of the pan so as to deglaze (the color of the sauce should begin to be turning a light rustic beige) and the sauce begins to thicken a bit. As the cooking progresses, if you feel you need to add a little more chicken stock, go ahead and do so. Stir well and add your crushed pepper and continue stirring. Lower your heat to low and cook for about 5 minutes covered and then add all your meats including the bacon (but not the shrimp) back in the pan. Stir all together well, cover and cook for about 5 to 7 more minutes. Finally, add the shrimp and the cream, stir well, and cook for a few more minutes covered. Taste sauce for flavor. If you need salt, add a bit, but I don't think you will.
About 10 minutes before serving, have water boiling in a pot and add the dry linguine, along with a teaspoon of salt and some olive oil. Cook the linguine in boiling water (stirring every couple of minutes) for about 8 to 10 minutes for al dente (meaning just done, firm but cooked through, not mushy). Plate by placing the linguine in a circular pattern at the center and carefully spooning the sauce over the top. Top off with a little bit of chopped fresh basil or parsley and sprinkle grated Swiss or Parm over the top. Serve hot and enjoy!
that must be so delicious, it has chorizo, shrimp ,chicken and bacon.. WOW :)
ReplyDeleteSounds really good. I've had a creamy pasta with shrimp and chicken, but I think that you adding the Spanish chorizo is a great idea. Talk about adding another dynamic burst of flavors. All I can say is "yum!",.
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