Spicy Chorizo Pasta with loads of veggie goodness!

I often struggle to get the hubster to consume hero veggies like Broccoli and Mushrooms ,both which I quite frankly love .. always have ! So what started off as a veg pasta was met with a grunt and audible grumbling and had to be re-engineered to create something fabulous ! I am therefore grateful for the grumbling  – totally depends on the end result right? 😉 Its also a very good recipe to use all the veggies lying around in your fridge and many some store cupboard excesses to start that spring clean you have been itching to do ( yes I love cleaning – am quite certain I have a mild OCD too)

Preparation Time: 25 minutes Cooking Time:40 minutes Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 500 gm Penne
• 300 gm Chorizo chopped bite size
• Broccoli a handful
• Button Mushrooms – half a small packet – std supermarket size-chopped bite size
• 200 gm Sweet Corn and Red Peppers canned
• Grated parmesan Cheese – generous amount;)
• 1/2 of a large Red Onion
• 4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 2 large tomatoes pureed
• Sea salt
• 2 large tablespoons Olive Oil
• Chilli flakes as per taste
• 2 large Spring onion finely chopped
• 1/4th cup low fat cream
• Dried italian herb mix for pasta 2 teaspoons

Method:

For the creamy sauce

• In a saucepan heat one and a half large tablespoon of oil and saute the finely chopped garlic and when it begins to brown add 2 cloves of garlic chopped spring onion and saute for about 1 min
• Then added the finely chopped broccoli
• Now add the chopped button mushrooms and the sweet corn and red pepper mixture.
• Add the cream and cook on a low flame for 2 – 3 minutes,season with salt  and then add generous amounts of cheese.
• This sauce should have a balance between creamy and chewy with the mushrooms on the broccoli can retain a bit of its crunch so if you use a lid it may overcook

Before starting on the spicy sauce boil the past in a large saucepan and add sea salt and olive  a generous splash I use flavoured oil – the bottle had a large sprig of rosemary some crushed garlic and chilli flakes tossed inside to give it a deep rich flavour- so , so good!

For the Spicy Sauce

• In a saucepan heat half a tablespoon of oil and fry the red onion chopped lengthwise and 2 garlic cloves finely chopped.
• Then add the bite  sized pieces of Chorizo and reduce the flame to low.
• Let the chorizo almost start to get crispy and  then added the pureed tomatoes,dried herb mixture,chilli flakes and salt as per taste.

In a clean bowl add a generous portion of the creamy sauce, top it with cooked pasta and then add the spicy chorizo sauce.Sprinkle with as much cheese as you want and watch it melt into the steaming hot pasta.If you want just a bit of guilty pleasure drizzle some chilli olive oil on the pasta before mixing the whole thing together!