This Chorizo Pasta is absolutely loaded with flavour and couldn’t be more simple to make!
This is fast becoming one of my favourite weeknight meals – and for good reason! I think you’re going to be surprised at how tasty this is, given how easy it is to whip up. Follow me…
Chorizo Pasta Ingredients
One of the awesome things about this dish is that every single ingredient can be found at the supermarket. Yet it still tastes like something made with fancy ingredients! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Chorizo – You’ll want to use Spanish Chorizo (cured) and dice it into small half-moons.
- Pasta – I use Farfalle, but any type of pasta will do the trick.
- Roasted Red Peppers – I use jarred peppers for ease, but you can roast your own if you’d like (more on this in the recipe card notes).
- Chicken Stock – This is used to blend the peppers into a sauce.
- Sun Dried Tomatoes – These add gorgeous pops of flavour.
- Cheese – Mascarpone helps create a dreamy, creamy sauce, whilst the parmesan adds bags of flavour to the sauce.
- Tomato Puree – Aka tomato paste in the US.
- Herbs – I love adding basil and parsley for a pop of herbaceous flavour.
- Seasoning – Chilli flakes add the spice, whilst smoked paprika helps highlight the smokiness of the chorizo.
- Garlic & Shallots – For a gorgeous base flavour. These are both fried in the leftover chorizo oil.
How to make Chorizo Pasta
Blending the peppers and stock takes 2 seconds, so you can do this at any point before it’s needed in the pan. I typically just do it at the start to get it out of the way.
From there, you’ll want to start the chorizo off in a cold pan. Sounds odd, but letting the chorizo heat up with the pan will help render out the fat. This is great for two reasons:
- Helps crisp up the chorizo
- The rendered fat blends into the sauce and adds bags of flavour.
It also means you don’t have to use oil at all in this recipe. You get it free from the chorizo, and it is perfect for frying the garlic and shallots!
Process shots: add peppers and stock to a blender (photo 1), blitz until smooth (photo 2), fry chorizo (photo 3), fry shallots, garlic & chilli flakes (photo 4), add tomato puree (photo 5), fry (photo 6).
Once you’ve fried everything, the recipe comes together very quickly. In fact, the sauce is so luscious and thick, you don’t even need to simmer it! Just toss the pasta through and you’re good to go.
Recipe Tip
The sauce should thicken around and cling to the pasta. If it over-thickens, just toss through some of the leftover starchy pasta water to thin it out. The sauce thickens pretty quickly, so it’s likely you’ll need it.
Process shots: add blended peppers (photo 7), stir through mascarpone (photo 8), stir in sun dried tomatoes and smoked paprika (photo 9), stir in pasta (photo 10), add in herbs and parmesan (photo 11), stir (photo 12).
How to serve Chorizo Pasta
As mentioned, the sauce will thicken quickly, so serve up right away. I love to serve with extra parsley and chilli flakes for a final pop of colour and flavour. Garlic bread is always optional if you’re feeling extra carby!
It’s certainly best made fresh, but leftovers are still great. Just allow to cool and tightly store in the fridge for 3 or so days. I like to reheat over low heat in the pan with a splash of stock, milk or water to make it saucy again, but short blasts in the microwave will be fine.
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this chorizo pasta shall we?!
How to make Chorizo Pasta (Full Recipe & Video)
Chorizo Pasta
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Equipment
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Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
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Food Process or Blender (for blending peppers)
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Large Pan & Wooden Spoon
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Large Pot & Colander (for cooking pasta)
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Fine Cheese Grater
Ingredients
- 350g / 12.3oz Farfalle, or other short-cut pasta
- 2 jarred Roasted Red Peppers (see notes)
- 120ml / 1/2 cup Chicken Stock
- 150g / 5oz cured Spanish Chorizo, sliced into small half-moons
- 2 large Shallots, finely diced
- 3 cloves of Garlic, finely diced
- 1 tsp Chilli Flakes (see notes)
- 2 tbsp Tomato Puree (Tomato Paste in US)
- 100g / 3.5oz Mascarpone
- 125g / 4oz Sun Dried Tomatoes, finely diced
- 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 30g / 1oz Parmesan, grated
- 2 tbsp finely diced Fresh Basil
- 2 tbsp finely diced Fresh Parsley
- Salt & Black Pepper, to taste
Instructions
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Cook the pasta in a saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente. Retain a cup of the starchy pasta water before draining.
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Squeeze the brine out of the red peppers (but don’t rinse) then blitz in a food processor or blender with the chicken stock until completely smooth.
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Put the chorizo into a deep, cold frying pan. Set over a medium heat and gently fry for 3–4 minutes until it starts to crisp and release its oils. Add the shallots and fry for a couple of minutes until softened, then add the garlic and chilli flakes and fry for a minute longer. Stir in the tomato purée and fry for a minute, then pour in the blended red peppers. Stir in the mascarpone until well combined, then add the sun-dried tomatoes and smoked paprika.
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Turn the heat down to low and stir in the cooked pasta, tossing until fully coated. Add the Parmesan, basil and half the parsley and continue stirring until the sauce thickens and clings to the pasta, using the pasta water to thin out the sauce a little if needed. If you go overboard with the pasta water, just gently simmer and stir to re-thicken.
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Check for seasoning/spice and adjust if needed, then garnish with the rest of the parsley, serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
b) Jarred roasted red peppers – these typically come in a vinegary brine. While you do want to squeeze as much of the brine out of the peppers as possible, you don’t want to rinse them. A touch of brine will help balance the flavours in the sauce.
c) Homemade roasted red peppers – I prefer using pre-roasted peppers, mainly for ease, but you can make your own if you’d like. Just place 2 red peppers under the grill on high and cook until soft and completely charred on the outside, rotating as you go to ensure even coverage. Place them in a bowl, cover the bowl with cling film and leave to cool. From there, peel away the skin (a little char left on the peppers is great for flavour) then deseed and continue with the recipe.
d) Cookbook – this recipe is featured in my debut cookbook ‘Comfy’.
e) Calories – Whole recipe divided by 4.
Nutrition
For more similar recipes check out these beauties:
Delcious Recipes using Chorizo
- Chicken and Chorizo Linguine
- Creamy Chorizo Gnocchi
- Chorizo Bolognese
- Chicken and Chorizo Bake
- Creamy Chicken and Chorizo
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