Week 17: White Bean Linguine with Chicken

I'll admit that while it was wonderful to be able to cook a recipe again for my grandmother last week, I was happy to get back into unfamiliar territory this week. The original title of the dish was "Warm Bean Linguine," the recipe being found on pages 174-175 in my 200 easy suppers cookbook by Jo McAuley (one of the Hamlyn cookbooks I brought with me back to the States from my Fall 2011 trip to London). Somehow, though, I just didn't find the name all that inviting. Plus, I switched out the borlotti beans (gesundheit!) for some white beans because I couldn't find the former. Thirdly, I added some chicken to the dish to make it carnivore-friendly (or at least omnivore-friendly). As such, the resulting dish bore fairly good resemblance to the original dish, but it was still changed enough to warrant a new moniker.

Any road, I suppose you're pretty interested in the actual ingredients that go into the dish. I assume that's why you are here in the first place. I will say from the outset that this particular combination of ingredients is quite intriguing. I honestly would not have thought of throwing them all together, and on the surface, the amalgam may seem a bit odd, but I assure you that the results are fantastic.

 Ingredients:
1 box of linguine (Mom suggested that bowtie pasta/farfalle might be a good choice, too, but it's completely up to you!)
1 medium red onion (I would be interested to try other types of onions, too)
1 can of rinsed and drained white beans (or use the originally-called-for borlotti beans or any kind of buttery tan bean)
2 stalks of celery, sliced
1 zucchini, shredded (I might just slice the zucchini next time or make little half-moon or quarter pieces, although I think that would require more than one zucchini, so maybe two or three, if you are going that route)
Juice and zest of one lemon
1 garlic clove, minced (I used a really large garlic clove, and the flavor was fine, so even two or three smaller cloves would be perfect)
2 small handfuls of parsley, chopped coarsely (estimate)
1 small jar of sun-dried tomatoes, sliced into thin pieces
 Optional--chicken tenderloins, cut into chunks and sauteed (I used about four, which is one per person)

1. Heat the water for the pasta. Meanwhile, chop your vegetables and get the chicken cooking (which takes somewhere between 10-15 minutes of active cooking on medium-high heat to be well-done).

2. Add the pasta to the water once it's boiling. Heat some olive oil or grapeseed oil in a pan and add the onion and celery. Cook for eight minutes. Add the garlic and shredded zucchini and cook for a couple more minutes.

3. Add the beans, parsley, tomatoes, lemon juice and rind, and chicken (if using) to the mixture in the pan. Stir to combine and cook for another minute, then remove from the heat.

4. Finally, drain the pasta and add the vegetable-and-bean mixture to the pasta, tossing to combine.

And that's it! Pretty simple, right? This was by far one of the least involved dishes I've made. It took next to no time to whip up. In total, the whole meal only took me 40 minutes, which is really on the short side, especially if you've read many of my other posts (I'm looking at you again, orange chicken).

Along with using different kinds of pasta or onions, you could also use different kinds of squash in the dish. I'm particularly looking forward to using the yellow crook-necked squash that I am growing in my backyard garden. I'm also eager to use CSA summer squash in this dish, too. More summer goodness to be excited about in the coming weeks!

We ate this dish with some salad and bread, but as with all things, you can serve this with whatever you like.

Earlier, I told you that the results will be fantastic. How fantastic? My mom insisted that I make this again sometime, and I think I heard praise about it slip out several times throughout the meal. It's a great summer dish because of the light, sunny taste of the lemon, sun-dried tomatoes (I preferred the bottled tomatoes to the pre-sliced and bagged ones we usually buy from the store), squash, and white beans. The celery also tastes very fresh in the dish, and the smell of the celery cooking with the onion is intoxicating. I always love dishes that delight the nose before the end product even comes out of the oven or has been completely assembled. It makes the whole cooking experience more enjoyable.

One stipulation I have about this dish is that I forgot to cut up the tomatoes before I added them to the dish. I think I thought they would be already chopped before I added them, and by the time I already did, well, the egg was metaphorically scrambled, and I couldn't very well put it back in the shell, now, could I? But it turned out okay (it always does).

On a happier note, Mom says she notices that I am becoming more comfortable in the kitchen, and I feel like she is right. When it is my time to cook, I don't feel nervous or stressed about it. I just start cooking, trusting that everything will turn out the way it should (because if I worry, that doesn't make anything turn out better, plus I believe that anxiety can end up in the food somehow and make it taste "hurried"). And you know what? It usually does! You can attest to that if you've been a diligent follower of the blog. I've really only had one or two dishes that I don't really care to make again because they were only all right. Out of 17 weeks (and 16 different dishes), that's not a bad batting average, if you ask me!

Well, that's all for this fairly straightforward post. Some nights are just easier than others, I guess. Until next time, happy eating!

I like this photo a lot because it shows really well all the ingredients in the dish and how colorful it turns out when it's done. Photo enhanced with Instagram filtering.