Very often, when I’m planning a party menu, I like to give options to my guests. I like the idea of a “choose your own adventure” kind of a dinner. I once hosted a dinner with 3 different kinds of pasta and 3 different kinds of sauce, so my guests could mix and match. Last year, I hosted a bonfire with 3 kinds of soup, and 3 kinds of bread to go with them. See what I mean? You get the idea. For another party, I made a crock pot full of home made mashed potatoes as a base, and then offered a choice of 3 different kinds of stew to pour over them. HUGE hit! Not only does it offer a variety, but I must say, I do love it when everyone goes back to try the other flavors.
So then I was thinking of Fall and Halloween, and some good hearty “stick to your ribs” kind of comfort foods, and I remembered making my Ghoulish Goulash. If you’re not familiar, it’s a tomato based beef stew with lots of paprika and spices that you serve over egg noodles. And of course there’s the favorite classic American Goulash, which is ground beef and elbow macaroni in a tomato sauce. And I thought, wait… what if I do a white chicken version? That’s gotta be delicious, right? So I started googling. Oddly enough, just about every version of chicken goulash that I could find still had a tomato based sauce, instead of the creamy version that I was looking for. So, (you know what I’m gonna say, right?), I made my own!
I started with ground chicken and elbow macaroni, and since goulash typically includes a lot of paprika (which is made from ground dried peppers), I opted to add chopped red bell peppers. Then I rounded everything out with a few other aromatics and herbs and tied it all together in a creamy sauce. YUM! It turned out exactly as I had pictured in my head and it was just the hearty comfort food I was looking for. It just happens to be the perfect thing to serve on Halloween or any other crisp fall night when you want something warm and comforting. Come to think of it, now I can serve two kinds of goulash at my next bonfire party! Boom.
A few glugs olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
1 tsp fennel seeds or caraway seeds
1 tsp dried oregano
1 lb ground chicken
2 (10oz) cans condensed cream of chicken with herbs soup
1 cup milk
4 oz cream cheese
1 lb elbow macaroni
Sweet paprika for garnish
In a large pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and peppers. Saute until they begin to soften. Now add the garlic, fennel seeds, and dried oregano. After they become fragrant, (just a minute or two), add the ground chicken. Continue to stir and sauté to break up the chicken. When the chicken is just about cooked through, add remaining sauce ingredients. (The cream cheese will melt through). Reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, boil the elbow macaroni according to package directions. Drain the pasta, reserving a cup of the cooking water. Toss the cooked macaroni with the chicken mixture. If it’s too thick, add a little of the pasta water to desired consistency. Adjust seasoning, if needed. Top with a sprinkle of paprika and serve.
Tips:
If you don’t have elbow macaroni, you can easily swap out any other kind of cut pasta. You could even just make the chicken and sauce and then pour the whole thing over wide egg noodles. Then you could choose your own sauce to noodle ratio.
Be careful with the oregano. I find it to be a very strong herb, which can sometimes overpower a dish. Dried marjoram would be good substitution!
I like to bash the fennel seeds around a little with a mortar and pestle, just to get them going, but you can just throw them in. They add a subtle but distinctive anise flavor, which I think is key. But if you’re not a fan, just leave 'em out. It won’t be exactly the same, but it’ll still be awesome!
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
1 tsp fennel seeds or caraway seeds
1 tsp dried oregano
1 lb ground chicken
2 (10oz) cans condensed cream of chicken with herbs soup
1 cup milk
4 oz cream cheese
1 lb elbow macaroni
Sweet paprika for garnish
In a large pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and peppers. Saute until they begin to soften. Now add the garlic, fennel seeds, and dried oregano. After they become fragrant, (just a minute or two), add the ground chicken. Continue to stir and sauté to break up the chicken. When the chicken is just about cooked through, add remaining sauce ingredients. (The cream cheese will melt through). Reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, boil the elbow macaroni according to package directions. Drain the pasta, reserving a cup of the cooking water. Toss the cooked macaroni with the chicken mixture. If it’s too thick, add a little of the pasta water to desired consistency. Adjust seasoning, if needed. Top with a sprinkle of paprika and serve.
Tips:
If you don’t have elbow macaroni, you can easily swap out any other kind of cut pasta. You could even just make the chicken and sauce and then pour the whole thing over wide egg noodles. Then you could choose your own sauce to noodle ratio.
Be careful with the oregano. I find it to be a very strong herb, which can sometimes overpower a dish. Dried marjoram would be good substitution!
I like to bash the fennel seeds around a little with a mortar and pestle, just to get them going, but you can just throw them in. They add a subtle but distinctive anise flavor, which I think is key. But if you’re not a fan, just leave 'em out. It won’t be exactly the same, but it’ll still be awesome!
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