Calamari and Chorizo Pasta
/The days are getting lighter, longer and warmer, which means I want to spend less time inside cooking and more enjoying the outdoors. I was able to do just that the other night with this Calamari and Chorizo pasta dish. This dish came together in less than fifteen minutes but you would never know. With hints of saffron and the bold spice of chorizo, this dish hits all the right flavor notes.
Do take note: it is a quick enough dish to make but can very quickly go wrong. Once the calamari rings are added to the pan there's no leaving. The calamari changes with every blink of the eye and if it's cooked over two and a half minutes it's practically inedible.
If you're one who enjoys red sauce and seafood then do yourself a favor and give this solid weeknight dinner a go. It's up to you how to spend your extra thirty minutes but might I suggest a glass of wine on the patio? You deserve it for finding a way to put dinner on the table at light speed. Until the next dish, ciao!
You will need:
1 lb calamari tubes and tentacles, tubes sliced about 1/4 inch
1 lb linguine or other ribbon pasta (if you have squid ink pasta on hand do it up)
1 package of precooked chorizo sausage, 3 of the 4 links (I suggest using the last link in some mac and cheese)
3 cloves of garlic
2 14oz cans of no salt added diced tomatoes
scant 1/2 tsp of saffron threads
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta until al dente. Set aside.
Thinly slice the chorizo links and add the slices to pan over medium high heat. Heat just long enough until the sides curl, sides are lightly browned and there are drippings in the pan, roughly five minutes. Remove chorizo and set aside separately from the pasta.
Finely chop the garlic cloves and add to the chorizo drippings over medium heat. Saute 1-2 minutes and add in both cans of the diced tomatoes. Using the back of a spoon, gently press some of the tomato pieces to break them up. Add saffron and heat about five more minutes. Add this tomato mixture to the reserved chorizo.
Add the squid to the pan and monitor for two minutes. The squid will be done very quickly. After two minutes turn the heat off, the squid will continue to cook.
Add the chorizo tomato mixture to the squid and mix together. Remove mixture from heat and add the pasta to the pan. Toss pasta to coat with sauce to make sure ingredients are evenly distributed. Serves 4-5 hungry people.
