I’ve always loved a bit of pasta. It can be an easy but satisfying option on a cold winters day or a bright summers evening, whether it be for a quick dinner for one or entertaining guests, you can impress with a good, homely bowl of fussili covered in an alluring, rosy red tomato sauce with some basil leaves and a grating of parmesan. It’s heaven.
This recipe takes a basic tomato sauce and gives it a little bit of a spruce up to create something a little more warming and give you something to get your senses tingling with some great flavours and to give your insides a hug! The combination of the spicy, strong garlic punch of the chorizo and the sweetness of the wine elevate the tomatoes to another new level, providing the perfect accompaniment for a dish of pasta, gnocchi or even spread over meat or fish. I made it with some left over ingredients from the wild boar stew earlier this week.
So to start us off you will need;
- 1/2 a med chorizo sausage. Diced
- 2 sticks of celery. finely chopped
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- 1/4 of a cup red wine
- 1 tspn garlic granules
- 1 tspn butter (unsalted)
- handful of sliced black olives
- 2 tablespoon olive oil (Basil infused preferably)
- large pinch sea salt
- large pinch cracked black pepper
- 200-300g pasta. I used some great little tortellini with spinach and ricotta.
- Boil the pasta in salted water to the pack instructions. Remove the pasta a minute or so before the instructed cooking time to maintain its al dente bite. Retain 1/4 a cup pasta cooking water.
- In a frying pan on a medium heat add the oil, celery and chorizo. Gently fry until the chorizo starts to go crispy.
- Pour in the wine and keep on the heat until it reduces by around half.
- Add the whole tin of tomatoes, garlic, salt and pepper to the pan and stir well.
- Still on the medium heat, cook for 4-5 minutes until the sauce emulsifies thoroughly, stirring regularly.
- Stir through the olives and add the butter, pasta and the reserved cooking water.
- Turn the heat up slightly and continue to stir the pasta into the sauce for a minute or so until the pasta is well glazed in the sauce.
- Serve and enjoy. Great for winter nights this one!