I went to my parents' place again and mom was offering me a bag of Super Crackers to bring home. One thing led to another, and I was bringing home a giant plastic bag full of canned goods, a kilo of shrimp, a tin of ground coffee and other snackables. I think she felt bad for all the food items that would go bad soon and hauled them in a plastic without asking me if I want those anyway. She knows I would still say yes and eat it-- I'm no picky eater at all. Among those was this cute little Edam Cheese given to them last December and would go bad in a month. They don't like how Edam (also known as Queso de Bola locally) tastes like but there was this one time I got curious with adding it to spaghetti during a Christmas Eve dinner. It's my go-to cheese for holiday pasta since then.
1. Cook your pasta according to package instructions (and don't put too much salt in it). Best if you cook it a minute or two less than needed. I used fusilli (that I got 50% off) in my version because it will be able to have more sauce clinging to it than elbow macaroni or spaghetti. No, I don't have fettuccini or linguini at home unless it is on sale. Keep 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
2. In a pan, add 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid and butter. Let the butter melt into it then add your cream and cheese. I'm adding some parmesan because the cheese isn't that sharp enough. Stir to let everything melt.
3. Add about 2 tsp pepper and stir to evenly distribute throughout the sauce. Simmer for a minute or two.
5. Serve with more cheese on top or on its own.
As soon as I got home, I looked at what we had in the fridge and got ready. I really wanted to make some Alfredo sauce out of it but my mind went blank and I added too much pepper. It actually tasted pretty good! I was able to whip up a meal in less than 20 minutes. This can serve 3 people or a hungry couple who haven't had a proper lunch.
I know, Queso de Bola isn't really cheap, but I'm sure someone might have given you one last Christmas or a relative has some lying in their fridge and would be willing to give it to you. Regardless, you can use whatever melty or sharp cheese you have lying around and heck, you can probably even try this with the Pinoy processed cheese or quickmelt. It's like a peppery mac and cheese without making a lumpy sauce from improper addition of milk to roux (not that it happens a lot to me). Using the pasta liquid helps the sauce cling to the pasta due to the starch that was released when the pasta was boiled in it.
Ingredients:
200g uncooked pasta, prepared by package instructions minus 2 minutes
1/2 cup grated edam cheese (queso de bola) or any cheese
2 tbsp grated parmesan (optional)
1/4 cup all-purpose cream
2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp butter
1 cup pasta liquid (don't add too much salt when cooking your pasta)
2. In a pan, add 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid and butter. Let the butter melt into it then add your cream and cheese. I'm adding some parmesan because the cheese isn't that sharp enough. Stir to let everything melt.
4. Pour in your cooked pasta and mix to let the sauce coat and cling to it.
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