Cheesy BBQ Chicken Mezzelune Pasta

691

This cheesy BBQ chicken mezzelune was amazing!

I like to try new things, and it usually pays off nicely. I needed a reason to do the final test of my homemade egg pasta anyway. It is a lengthy recipe, mostly due to making the pasta. But it’s worth every minute once you take that first bite. No store bought pasta will ever compare to making it from scratch. The plates are always rustic, beautiful, and delicious.

The BBQ Chicken

Start out by cooking the chicken. It’ll take about an hour, so you can work on the egg pasta while it’s in the oven. I hooked up the chicken like I normally do in my Dutch oven, so there’s the link to that. I used 2 nice size chicken quarters and still had leftover chicken. When it’s done, make sure you shred it up thoroughly using your fingers. It should fall right off the bone, it’s so tender. You wanna make sure you don’t get any small bones in there.

Once it’s shredded up sprinkle in some garlic powder, onion salt, and a little black pepper to your taste. Mix it all around, then add 1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce. Mix that in good too, then cover your chicken and set it aside while you finish preparing the egg pasta.

The Egg Pasta

I did another post explaining the homemade egg pasta pretty thoroughly, so I’ll link you there also. This is a fun recipe, and makes enough to feed 4 people. Once your egg pasta is done resting, cut your pasta ball into 4 wedges.

Pull one wedge out and wrap the others up tightly. Work with one at a time to keep your pasta dough from drying out. Using a rolling pin, flatten the dough out until it is about 1/8 inch thick. When I can see my fingers through the dough like a nice little silhouette, it’s good to me.

I used an old whiskey glass with a 3 inch diameter to cut my circles. Cut as many as you can, then form your scraps back up into a ball. Roll it back out and you can get a few more. I managed to get 7-8 circles out of each wedge.

Building The Mezzelune

While your circles are fresh, go ahead and build your mezzelune before they dry out.

Slice up some small cheese triangles. I used cheddar for half of them, and Monterey Jack for the other half. Spoon about a half tspn of the BBQ chicken in the center of your circle, and top it with a slice of cheese. I know you’re gonna wanna pile it in there, but don’t. Trust me, they won’t seal right if you overpack them.

For this step, keep a glass of water close by to dab your fingers in. You wanna lightly wet the outer edge of your circles (like you’re about to seal an envelope). Fold them in half and crimp them shut using a fork. When you get them folded and sealed, place them on a clean towel and let them dry while you continue preparing the rest of the mezzelune.

When you’re finished, let all the mezzelune dry for about about 30 minutes before boiling. Depending on your environment it make take more time to dry. I talked about that in more detail in my homemade egg pasta post. But they should be firm and dry to the touch before you boil them.

Always bring your water to a full rolling boil before you add any pasta. If not, you will have a sticky, gooey mess in your pot. Good luck cleaning that one. Homemade egg pasta cooks way faster than normal pasta. So you only need to let these go for about 3 minutes at most. When they’re floating, they’re done. You can cook them all at once if you have a big enough pot. Just make sure you give them a good stir as you add more.

Using a slotted spoon, scoop out the mezzelune (do not strain). Place them all together in a covered bowl until ready to serve. The water and moisture they retain from not straining will keep them fresh long enough. I would try to get the sauce done just before or during the time you are boiling your pasta though, to keep them from going cold.

Simmering The Sauce

I didn’t get a good pic of the sauce this time, but I’ll update when I do. The sauce I chose to use was similar to my carbonara sauce, nice and cheesy. It paired beautifully with these mezzelune, and is very simple to make.

In a small sauce pot on low heat, combine 1 cup of milk, 8 ounces of your choice shredded cheese (Monterey and Colby Jack are usually what I use), and 1 Tbsp of butter. You don’t want to boil this rapidly. Just a low simmer to get everything melted together will work, whisking occasionally. When it’s all melted down nicely, add 2 egg yolks. Whisk it all together for another minute, then cut off the heat. You wanna wait until last to add these egg yolks so you don’t end up with scrambled eggs in there. You should end up with a nice creamy cheese sauce to drizzle over your mezzelune.

Now hook up a plate of your dish that you worked so hard on, and reap those delicious benefits!