This Shrimp and Chorizo pasta is a quick and easy mid-week meal - you can have this dish on the table in just 10 minutes. The key to this dish is the hard chorizo sausage which, when fried gives up its deliciously flavored oil. This oil is used to cook the shrimp, garlic and coat the pasta, creating an instant simple sauce without the need for cream or tomatoes. Serve with a side salad for a delicious pasta dinner.
1lbraw shrimp (peeled and tails removed)- see note 3
2clovesgarlic (crushed/grated)
½teaspoonpaprika
¼-1/2teaspoonred chili flakes- optional
Salt and pepper
Fresh parsley - for garnish
Instructions
Bring a large pan of water to a boil, then salt it generously.
Add the pasta and set a timer for 1 minutes less than the suggested cooking time. When draining the pasta reserving ½ cup (125ml) of the cooking liquid.
Whilst the pasta is cooking, cut the chorizo into thick disks.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add the chorizo and fry for 5 minutes turning often until golden and crispy.
Remove the chorizo from the frying pan, keeping the oil behind.
Add the shrimp and cook for 2 minute, then add in the paprika (chili flakes if using) and crushed garlic and cook for another minute.
Add a ¼ cup of the pasta cooking liquid and bring the sauce to a simmer.
Add the drained pasta and toss to coat the pasta well in the oily sauce.
Add more cooking liquid if needed.
Taste for seasoning and then serve garnished with parsley.
Notes
A long pasta like spaghetti, linguine, angel hair or fusilli lunghi works perfectly for this recipe! However if you aren't a fan of the long pastas then feel free to pick a smaller shape, ideally you want something that isn't tubular, like farfelle (bowtie).
Ideally you want to use a cured or semi-cured spanish style chorizo sausage as they slice up well and keeps it shape during cooking. But if all you can find are the Mexican style sausages, this dish will still work perfectly well. Try to buy one in a casing so you can slice the sausage and the continue with the recipe as normal.
I like to use large shrimp for this dish, they are small enough that you can eat them easily with the pasta, but meaty enough to feel substantial. If you prefer you could buy the extra large or drop down to medium large or even medium. When buying shrimp it is much better to buy by the count as each vendor will have a different idea of what extra large/large/medium should be. I suggest large shrimp, meaning a 31/35 count per pound, as this works out at around 8 shrimp per serving.