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Saturday, August 17, 2013

Orecchiette With Spicy Sausage

So I made dinner tonight for my bestie. She had a headache and my back hurt so we both really just needed some comfort food. And nothing screams comfort food like pasta, well at least to me it does. I had been carrying around this particular pasta recipe around for awhile as I love chorizo and I love mushrooms and the thought of combining the two just made my mouth water. So tonight, which on a side note, was one of the hottest days of the year, I decided to steam up the kitchen with a little pasta and spicy sausage. 



Sure I tried turning on the fan, however it made the flame on the gas stove dance, and the thought of setting my best friends kitchen on fire was kind of a turn off. So I decided to sweat my ass of in the kitchen instead. I thought I chose wisely. 

Let me start with a few random facts related to the ingredients in this recipe:

  • Orecchiette means "little ears," yes they are kind of shaped like little ears, but we did have a discussion about how it is kind of comical that there is an actual Italian word for "little ears," and a pasta is named after it...kind of random.
  • This recipe calls for "spring onions," but if you can't find them, which I couldn't, you can use scallions. They worked just fine. 
  • The traditional variety of chorizo is pork. I know that you can purchase a blend and also beef chorizo and well soy chorizo, but if you want to stick with tradition you do want pork. 
  • Mexican chorizo is made with fresh pork, where as Spanish chorizo uses smoked pork. I used Mexican chorizo for this recipe. Loved it!


Cook the pasta like you normally do, just reserve a cup of the cooking liquid. I do have to say that I did not use the cooking liquid because my pasta sauce had plenty of liquid as it was, but it is good to keep it in reserve, just in case your sauce gets a little dry. 

Heat the olive oil and cook the chorizo until it starts to brown. I actually found a better indicator for the chorizo was not necessarily to wait until it gets brown, but to wait until it gets kind of soupy. Ya know chorizo starts off in a clump but as it cooks it becomes more liquidy and that was the visual cooking landmark I used. 


Next add the onions and cook until softened. Add the garlic, mushrooms and salt and pepper. I did buy the mushrooms that were already sliced for me...because I was being lazy...and I did find that they were a little thick. So if I made this recipe again I would buy them whole and slice them myself, just so they could brown up and cook a little faster. Next add the cherry tomatoes. I decided to use a combination of yellow grape tomatoes and red cherry tomatoes just to add a little contrasting color to the dish. Loved how this worked visually!


Add the chicken broth to the pasta sauce. Once the pasta is done cooking toss the pasta into the sauce and add the cheese. Voila!

Kosher salt
12 ounces orecchiette pasta
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
8 ounces fresh chorizo or other spicy sausage, casings removed
2 spring onions (white and light green parts only), thinly sliced, plus more for topping
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
Freshly ground pepper
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup grated pecorino or parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Directions
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as the label directs. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until it begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the spring onions and cook until softened, about 3 more minutes. Add the garlic, mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste; cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms start to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes and cook until they soften slightly, about 3 more minutes.

Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta. Add the broth to the skillet and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in the pasta and cheese, adding some of the reserved cooking water to loosen, if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Divide among bowls, drizzle with olive oil and top with more cheese and spring onions.

This recipe was really good. I loved the flavor and hint of spice from the chorizo. The mushrooms added a nice texture and well I just love anything with mushrooms. And the pasta just made this a hearty and comforting dish. This pasta dish kind of reminded me of a bolognese sauce, however with chorizo instead. It is definitely worth making and this recipe is really nice paired with a grenache, cabernet sauvignon or chianti. I honestly think any red wine with a slightly dry finish would pair really well with this dish. 

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. Cheers!

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