It's mid-week. Last weekend is a distant memory and next week seems like an age away. The fridge is looking sad and depleted but you and the family are hungry and need a delicious, nourishing and uplifting dinner - with no fuss.
Here's an idea for a super quick meal - it's a tasty, spicy sauce to serve with your favourite pasta. And how many ingredients make up this lifesaver dinner? Four ... yes, four ... and that includes the pasta too.
Chorizo and Tomato Pasta brings together the mellow, paprika spiciness of chorizo; soft onions for texture and sweet, vibrant tomatoes. Chorizo has a shelf life of 'very nearly forever' so it's a good thing to have stashed at the back of the fridge. When it cooks, it gives out a beautiful, rich, red oil and the blend of herbs and spices from the meat combine effortlessly with the other ingredients. The result? ... a taste that suggests you've been clever in the kitchen. Remember to save a cup or two of the starchy pasta water, once the cooking has finished - a little of this added to the sauce will help to create a silky sauce that will coat the pasta beautifully.
Using chopped, tinned tomatoes that already contain herbs is another 'no fuss' tip.
And if you don't mind, I'm going to sneak in an optional(!) fifth ingredient, as it's between friends - a little chopped parsley to sprinkle over the finished dish. It may be mid-week but we need a little va-va-voom to get us through to the weekend. Enjoy!
And if you fancy reading about what happened when two teenagers tackled making Chorizo and Tomato Pasta for the family, you can read about it here.
Chorizo & Tomato Pasta
This pasta brings together the mellow, paprika spiciness of chorizo; soft onions for texture and sweet, vibrant tomatoes. Chorizo has a shelf life of 'very nearly forever' so it's a good thing to have stashed at the back of the fridge.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 6
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Hob
- Cuisine: Western
Ingredients
- 225g (8oz) chorizo (ready to cut up yourself)
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 x 400g (13oz) tins chopped tomatoes with herbs
- a little fresh parsley to garnish (optional)
- pasta to serve - I used about 400g (13oz)
Instructions
- Peel the skin off the chorizo and chop it into small cubes.
- Fry off the chorizo in a medium sized pan until it is slightly browned and the oil is running. There is no need to add extra oil - you will get enough from the chorizo.
- Add the onions and cook until soft - about 6-8 mins.
- Add the tomatoes and simmer for about 15 minutes until the sauce is nicely reduced.
- Toss through cooked pasta and garnish with a little chopped, fresh parsley.
Notes
Note - Remember to save a cup or two of the starchy pasta water, once the cooking has finished. A little of this added to the sauce will help to create a silky sauce that will coat the pasta beautifully.
Keywords: quick, easy, midweek