Garlic Prawn And Chorizo Pasta | Easy 15 minute dinner

Garlic Prawn and Chorizo pasta is easy to make and can be ready to eat in 15 minutes. Fat juicy garlic butter coated prawns, spicy chorizo, sweet tomatoes, a prickle of chilli, zest of lemon and fresh parsley makes for a delicious combination.

There are days that we are happy to labour away in the kitchen and there are days that we want a delicious meal on the table quick as. Garlic Prawn and Chorizo Pasta is one of our favourite midweek meals. Perfect for when you want BIG on flavour with minimal effort.

At a Glance This Is What You Need To Make Garlic Prawn And Chorizo Pasta

Prawns and chorizo are the stars of this dish. They’re a classic combination of smoky chorizo and garlicky prawns that you’ll find on any good tapas menu.

We visited Barcelona and have wonderful memories of ducking into numerous little tapas bars and ordering chorizo and garlic prawns. Sitting at the bar, sipping a glass of Verdejo and ordering numerous little plates of delicious tapas – this pasta dish transported us both back in time.

What Is Chorizo Made Of

Chorizo sausage is made from 100% pork, highly seasoned with smoked paprika and garlic and filled into a natural gut. There are many, many recipes for making chorizo sausage, but all will contain the above ingredients. The smoky paprika gives the sausage a deep smoky flavour and a glorious red colour.

Chorizo is a Spanish sausage that is extremely popular in Spain. In Castillian Spanish, chorizo is pronounced cho-REE-thoh.

How To Make Chorizo Pasta With Garlic Prawns

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, add the pasta and cook for 2 minutes less than manufacturers recommended time
2. Meanwhile slice the chorizo into thickish slices – chorizo having a high fat content can almost melt away if sliced too thinly 4mm / 1/4in
3. Using a large frying pan add the oil and chorizo, gently fry for several minutes until starting to brown on both sides
4. Add the garlic and chilli and continue to fry until the garlic begins to colour

Can I Freeze Chorizo

Chorizo sausage is a fabulous freezer standby and you’ll always find a couple in our freezers. Simply wrap the sausage well in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to use it remove it from the freezer and allow it to thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

Raw Or Green Prawns / Shrimp

Raw prawns are often referred to as green prawns (shrimp). We’ve used frozen Australian black tiger prawns for this recipe. Frozen prawns are another handy freezer standby that we love to have stashed away in the freezer. They have been peeled, and snap-frozen and only really take minutes to thaw.

Of course, you can use fresh raw prawns in the shell, but let’s face it you will need to add on extra time for peeling them (and deveining them for that matter!) For absolute convenience in getting this pasta on the table in under 30 minutes, we’ve gone with the frozen peeled raw prawns (shrimp).

Take prawns out of the freezer and allow them to thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

5. Add the butter and allow it to melt
6. Once the butter has melted add the fresh prawns, tomatoes, zest, and lemon juice stirring for 2 minutes. Prawns should still be a little undercooked when you move onto the next step.
7. When the pasta is cooked strain and reserve 3/4 a cup of the pasta water, now add the pasta to the frying pan along with the pasta water and parsley. Continue to cook for 2 – 3minutes until the pasta and prawns have finished cooking.
8. Serve immediately and enjoy!

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Pasta And Pasta Water Hot Tip

We’ve used spaghetti for the recipe, but you could use linguine, fettucine or tagliatelle pasta. Whatever shape your using cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than the manufacturers recommended time. Drain the pasta but keep some of the pasta cooking water to add to the sauce.

Adding the slightly under cooked pasta and pasta water allows the pasta to finish cooking in the sauce.

The pasta cooking water is liquid gold! The starch content adds a silky richness and acts as a thickening agent. As the water evaporates it brings the whole sauce of oil and butter together.

The Thing With Pasta Is That It Is So Versatile

Check out some super quick and super tasty recipes if you’re in need of some more inspiration

• Angel Hair Pasta and Chicken with Creamy Garlic Sauce (in one pan) EASY
• Puttanesca Pasta Sauce
• Italian Baked Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

Don’t forget to rate this recipe and let us know what you thought when you make this fabulous Garlic Prawn And Chorizo Pasta in the reviews below. 

Continue to Content

Yield: 4

Garlic Prawn And Chorizo Pasta

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Garlic butter coated prawns, spicy chorizo, sweet tomatoes, a prickle of chilli, zest of lemon and fresh parsley makes for a delicious combination.

This is exactly the sort of pasta dish that we make when time is short, but we still want fabulous flavours. What's not to like.

Originally published April 2019

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Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 chorizo sausages sliced thinly ( about 10 oz / 300 grams)
• 6 fat cloves of garlic peeled and sliced thinly or minced - 40 grams / 1.5 oz
• 1 long red chili finely chopped - seeds optional
• 300 grams raw peeled prawns - sliced or left whole / 10 oz
• 80 grams butter / 3 oz
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (a lot)
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup finely chopped flat leaf  parsley
• 400 grams dried spaghetti / 14 oz
• 100 grams cherry tomatoes , halved / 3.5 oz
• fresh ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons of salt for the pasta water

Instructions

• bring a large pot of water to the boil, add the salt, and cook spaghetti for 2 minutes less than the manufacturers recommended time - it pays to set a timer
• Meanwhile, place olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and add chorizo, cook until lightly browned on both sides
• Add sliced garlic and chilli, stirring for a minute or 2
• Add butter and allow to melt then add fresh prawns, tomatoes, zest, and lemon juice stirring for 2 minutes
• when the pasta is cooked, strain and reserve 3/4 of a cup of the pasta water
• add the pasta, pasta water, and parsley to the frying pan, move constantly until the pasta and prawns have finished cooking (about 2 minutes) and the pasta water has evaporated
• Add a good grind of black pepper and serve

Notes

• Pasta water is a great addition as the salty, starchy water helps to bring all the flavours together and finishes off cooking the spaghetti so you don't overcook it.
• Sliced chorizo in the freezer is a handy standby to add to other pasta dishes like tomato based sauces and imparts a fabulous flavour.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 750Total Fat 48gSaturated Fat 19gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 24gCholesterol 243mgSodium 1635mgCarbohydrates 43gFiber 3gSugar 3gProtein 37g

Nutritional information provided here is only intended as a guide.