Chicken and Chorizo One Pot Pasta

There are plenty of jarred pasta sauces available in the supermarket but I love that this Chicken and Chorizo One Pot Pasta doesn't rely on any of them and in fact, delivers so much more. This perfect mid-week dinner comes together so easily and balances the warmth of smoky paprika, with lots of tomato flavours in a chicken pasta dish that also comes with vegetables included. This is one of those dishes that always gets those, 'Ooooh, this is good' noises ♡

What ingredients do you need for this dish?

• Olive oil - just enough for sautéing at the start of the recipe. I used 1 tablespoon. (Sorry, I forgot to include the oil in the photo)
• Onion - I used ½ a regular brown onion, chopped finely but a red onion would also be fine. To avoid having a half onion hanging around in the fridge (because sometimes the smell even seems to seep through the cling film) you could also use the whole of a small onion.
• Chorizo - the spiciness really does vary so choose the strength that suits you and yours. I went for a hot variety but, to be honest, the heat was very much balanced by the other flavours so the dish ended up being warm and flavourful rather than too spicy.
• Chicken - I used a chicken breast, sliced into strips but you could also use thigh meat if you prefer.
• Garlic - I used ½ of a clove because there's quite a bit of garlic in the chorizo and I don't like it to be too strong
• Red pepper - thinly sliced. You could use yellow instead or green, if you're happy with a slightly more bitter flavour - I think the recipe can handle it, to be honest.
• Pasta - I used white pasta (in my current favourite shape).
• Chopped tinned tomatoes - I'm a fan of chopped tomatoes that also contain garlic and/or herbs and you could go for this option and then omit adding the garlic separately.
• Chicken stock - I forgot to defrost some chicken stock from the freezer, so I ended up using stock powder added to boiling water.
• Tomato purée - I like the type that comes in a tube because it's double concentrated.
• Smoked paprika - you could substitute with regular paprika.
• Broccoli - the broccoli doesn't get much cooking time so, it needs to be cut into fairly small florets. I sometimes use broccolini instead.
• Cherry tomatoes - I cut them in half to avoid that mouth explosion thing when you bite into a whole cooked cherry tomato!
• Parsley - everything looks improved by a sprinkling of a little green. Parsley is the perfect choice here.

Things I've learned about this Chicken and Chorizo One Pot Pasta

• The recipe makes a surprisingly large quantity - there are quite a few ingredients but not a huge amount of any single item and this can be deceiving. The first time I made this, I did double this quantity and we were eating it for ages. I'm not saying that's a bad thing but it's also nice not to have a 'leftovers overwhelm' situation.
• Be aware that the spiciness of chorizo varies - choose the spice level according to what you like.
• I used white pasta to shorten the cooking time - I'm normally a devotee of wholemeal pasta but as everything else is cooking in with the pasta, I wanted to avoid the rest of the ingredients feeling overcooked so opted for white (with its shorter cooking time).
• Different pasta shapes have different cooking times - you will need to adjust your cooking times depending on the pasta shape that you choose.
• The pasta continues to soak up the liquid once the cooking is over - this also continues as it cools and as it sits in the fridge ready for leftovers the next day. You may want to add a splash of extra water before you reheat.

6 reasons why I love this dish

1. It's a one-pot dish - and that makes it perfect for a mid-week dinner.
2. If you get all the prep done beforehand, it comes together in less than half an hour.
3. It makes 1 chicken breast go a long way.
4. It's surprisingly filling.
5. It's deliciously tasty - the onions, the chorizo, the different layers of tomatoes and the smoked paprika combine to create a warm and gentle flavour.
6. Leftovers work well in a food flask for the next day.

So, my friends, this Chicken and Chorizo One Pot Pasta is a dish that I think you will really enjoy. More flavour, less hassle and hardly any ugly washing up. What's not to love? ♡

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