Chorizo Pasta With Spinach Recipe – Learn Like a Pro : For good reason, chorizo pasta is a mainstay of Spanish comfort cuisine. A powerful and tasty sauce is created by combining acidic manchego cheese, sweet roasted red peppers, and smokey chorizo. In about 35 minutes, it will be ready!
Chorizo Pasta With Spinach Recipe – Learn Like a Pro
The foundation of this rustic pasta is Spanish chorizo, which has a deliciously smokey flavor and a bright orange tint. The recipe is boosted with fresh veggies from roasted red peppers and spinach, and it is given a refreshing depth at the end with a splash of sherry vinegar.
Though spinach isn’t traditionally included in chorizo pasta, I like to include it since it breaks up the richness of the meal, offers a splash of color, and sneaks in some leafy greens. Remove the spinach for a genuinely authentic Spanish chorizo pasta.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces short pasta, such as orecchiette or pipette rigate
- 2 tablespoons Hojiblanca Spanish extra virgin olive oil
- 4 ounces Spanish chorizo, casing removed and thinly sliced
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- Kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons double-concentrated tomato paste
- 6 ounces jarred roasted red peppers, drained thoroughly and sliced into thin strips, or 1 large roasted red pepper
- 10 ounces mature spinach (not baby spinach–see note), coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
- 2 ounces manchego cheese, shaved into thin slices using a vegetable peeler (optional)
Instructions
Cook the pasta by heating a big pot of water that has been thoroughly salted to a roaring boil. When the pasta is almost al dente, add it and cook. Before draining, save 1 cup of pasta water. After completely draining, set pasta aside.
Cook the chorizo, onion, and garlic: In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat until the oil’s surface starts to shimmer while the pasta cooks. Add the garlic, onion, and chorizo slices. Saute the onion for 5 to 6 minutes, turning regularly, or until the onion is softened and some of the orange fat from the chorizo has rendered. Use a generous amount of salt to season.
Add the peppers and tomato paste: Gently mix in the peppers and tomato paste, being mindful that the oil may splash when the ingredients are first introduced. Saute for two to three minutes, stirring often, or until tomato paste starts to color.
Wilt the spinach: After the pasta has cooked, spread the spinach over the red pepper mixture. After wilting the spinach and coating the pasta completely, drizzle the saved ½ cup of pasta water over the mixture and stir. To get a glossy sauce, add a splash at a time extra pasta water.
Toss again to incorporate, then add the sherry vinegar and season with salt & pepper to taste. Serve immediately. Spoon the chorizo pasta onto individual serving dishes and top with manchego cheese shavings, if desired. Serve right away.
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Notes
Use frozen spinach that has been defrosted, lacinato kale, or Swiss chard in place of the mature spinach if necessary.
Instead, try using handmade roasted red peppers. Use this recipe to roast one large red pepper.
While salting the pasta water, use a generous amount; it should taste “salty like the sea.”
Nutrition
- Calories:Â 397.8kcal
- Carbohydrates:Â 51.2g
- Protein:Â 15.2g
- Saturated Fat:Â 5.4g
- Monounsaturated Fat:Â 5.2g
- Cholesterol:Â 19.6mg
- Sodium:Â 792.7mg
- Potassium:Â 712.8mg
- Fiber:Â 4.7g
- Vitamin A:Â 7092.9IU
- Vitamin C:Â 44mg
- Calcium:Â 263.4mg
- Iron:Â 3.5mg
