Pasta with Chorizo & Chickpeas

Suspense is up.
My assignment as part of the Cover to Cover Challenge from The Bitten Word is....


...PASTA  



And not just your run of the mill spaghetti and meat sauce pasta, but fancier pasta with chorizo and chickpeas.  You could say I won the foodie lottery with this assignment.  
Simple and delicious this dish comes together effortlessly with ingredients that are pretty much pantry staples. Making it perfect for a quiet Saturday night date with the family accompanied by some fresh bread and a glass of wine, or just as easily on a Wednesday night before rushing out to basketball practice.

I only made one adjustment to this dish, the pasta component.  Would you believe in a city of more than 1 million people I couldn't find any orecchiette in any of the markets I visited today, including a specialty Italian market.  Sheesh.  As a result I decided that I may as well try out a new noodle, and better yet opt for the fresh version.  Call me a pasta snob if you will, but fresh pasta is KING, nothing beats it.  So I guess not finding any dried orecchiette actually worked out in my favour.  What else worked out in my favour?  The chorizo.  But you already knew that.  This dish was perfect; spicy, flavourful, and the lemon zest and parmesan were the cherries on top.  #makethispasta #doit
Happy Saturday friends, hopefully yours was as delicious as ours.



Thanks Zach and Clay for allowing me to participate this year.  It was more than enjoyable, and my husband, kids and our respective stomaches thank you for the assignment.  Cheers!



Pasta with Chorizo & Chickpeas


Ingredients:
2 small shallots, chopped
3/4 lb. fresh Mexican chorizo or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed
12oz small dried pasta (malloreddus or orecchiette)
kosher salt
2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
finely grated Parmesan and lemon zest (for serving)


Method:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add shallots and cook, stirring often, until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes.  Add chorizo; cook, breaking up with a spoon, until browned and cooked through,  5-7 minutes. 
Add tomato paste and red pepper flakes to skillet and cook, stirring, until paste darkens, about 1 minute.  Add broth; bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, 15-20 minutes.  Add chickpeas and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente.  Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of pasta cooking liquid.
Add pasta and 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid to sauce.  Cook, stirring and adding more cooking liquid as needed, until sauce thickens and coats pasta, about 3 minutes.
Serve pasta topped with parsley, if using, Parmesan, and lemon zest

Serves 6

recipe courtesy Bon Appetit & Michael Hudman and Andy Ticer

Comments

Popular Posts