Chorizo pasta with a distinct Spanish influence featuring a splash of sherry vinegar, tinned cherry tomatoes and sliced mushrooms.
This simple pasta dish is pretty quick, clocking in at around 25 minutes means that this is a fantastic mid-week meal.
Spanish Sausage Pasta
This simple recipe is just one of dozens of quick pasta recipes here on my site. This particular recipe uses chorizo, traditionally a Spanish or Portuguese ingredient.
Chorizo is a cured pork-based sausage. It can be bought in soft and hard varieties; the former needs cooking, but the latter does not.
It has a rich and bold flavour and gives off plenty of oil, which helps cook and flavour the mushrooms in this recipe.
If you are visiting me from the US, you should not confuse it with the Mexican variety. That is very different and may very well work, but it is not what I have used here.
This chorizo pasta recipe is rounded out with some tinned cherry tomatoes and sherry vinegar. These create a fairly light but delicious sauce!
I use the same type of chorizo in my chorizo gnocchi, chorizo and leek pasta, chicken and chorizo conchiglie, Argentinian choripan sandwich and prawn and chorizo linguini.
So don't get hung up about using up the leftover sausages, I've got you!
If you like the idea of a sausage pasta, check out my creamy pasta alla norcina recipe or even my haggis pasta.
Frequently Asked Questions
What type of chorizo should I use?
There are two types of this sausage, a soft one that loosely resembles my Italian sausage. It is perfectly possible to make Spanish chorizo sausage at home too!
The second is a hard, dried sausage similar to salami or pepperoni. I use this version in my Spanish pork chops recipe and stuffed squid recipe.
This chorizo pasta recipe uses the softer variety; I specifically use Chorizo Rosario here.
Can I just slice the chorizo sausage?
Yes, of course, I like to remove the skin and break it up, but slices of sausage work just as well.
What sort of pasta should I use?
I like to serve this with a long, wide pasta. This chorizo pasta recipe is pictured here with pappardelle, but fettuccine or tagliatelle would both work well.
Do I have to use sherry vinegar?
No, you could swap it out for red wine vinegar if you like. Sherry vinegar is expensive; however, a little does go a long way, and it is also delicious!
Do I need to add salt?
Between the salt in the pasta water and in the sausage, you should have enough salt in the dish.
You should have a taste and check as you are cooking, but remember the pasta cooking water will add salt too!
Can I make this in advance?
You could get away with it, but it is not a dish that fares well when cooled and reheated.
Serving Suggestions
This chorizo pasta recipe is a one-bowl dinner, and the only thing I add other than a big glass of red wine is bread.
The base of the bowl will have a lovely coating of sauce and oil, and that needs mopping up!
Something like focaccia or ciabatta are both perfect for this!
If your bread is a little past its best, then dicing it and frying it to make croutons makes a nice addition too.
Equipment Used
I only mention specific brands of equipment if I think they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.
- Hob/stovetop.
- 28-30cm or 11-12" frying pan.
- 20cm or 8" saucepan for boiling pasta.
- A combination of weighing scales, a measuring jug, measuring cups and spoons.
- Sieve or colander.
- Kitchen knife.
- Chopping board.
- Stirring and serving spoons or tongs.
Chorizo Pasta Recipe with Tinned Cherry Tomatoes & Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 200 g Cooking Chorizo Sausage 7oz
- 150 g Mushrooms 1½-2 Cups
- 200 g Tin of Cherry Tomatoes 7oz
- 2 tablespoon Sherry Vinegar
- 2 tablespoon Dried Parsley
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 175 g Dried Pasta 6oz
- Fresh Parsley to Serve
- Salt For boiling pasta
Instructions
- Slit the skin from the sausages and break the meat up into rough 1-1½cm (around ½") pieces.
- Clean and cut the mushrooms into 5mm thick slices
- Heat a medium-large frying pan (28cm or 11") over a medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the sausage pieces and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Once the sausage begins to colour and it lets off some oil, add in the sliced mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly.
- Bring a 20cm or 8" saucepan of well-salted water for the pasta to a boil. I use 1½-2 teaspoons of salt in a pan this size
- Deglaze the pan with the sherry vinegar, making sure you remove any stuck bits from the base of the pan.
- Add the dried parsley, black pepper and cherry tomatoes, then reduce the heat to low, add a lid and simmer whilst you cook the pasta.
- Cook the pasta for 60 seconds less than the packet instructions.
- Have a taste of the sauce before the pasta is ready, and add more salt if required; it shouldn't because the sausages should have enough salt.
- Just before you add the pasta, lightly crush the cherry tomatoes with a fork.
- Reserve 75ml (⅓ Cup) of the pasta cooking water before draining the pasta and adding it to the sauce.
- Mix well and pour in as much of the pasta water as required to form a nice coating on the pasta. Serve with chopped fresh parsley.
Kim
Thursday 31st of October 2019
This was such a satisfying flavorful meal! I'll definitely be making again!
Danielle
Thursday 31st of October 2019
So simple but so delicious!
Adrianne
Thursday 31st of October 2019
I love chorizo and how you have used it in this pasta recipe looks fab. Can't wait to try it!