King prawn & chorizo tagliatelle

For a simple and speedy supper when I am too tired to cook anything epic, something like this dish is ideal. It's packed full of flavour and is relatively healthy (ok so the chorizo is quite fatty, but the rest is good!!) It probably takes about half an hour to prepare and cook. 

I find prawn pasta can be a little dull if it's not covered in cream and cheese so this little smokey addition can be perfect to give it an extra kick, plus a shed load of chilli, lime and coriander finishes it off brilliantly. Actually I used parsley and basil in this one because the boy is not so keen on coriander, but if I was free and single this would be the herb of choice. 

So these are all your lovely little ingredients:

Pack of tagliatelle (you could use any pasta really but this is a favourite of mine - I like slurping up the long ribbons dripping in red garlicy oil)

2 packs of king prawns (it can get too carby so having lots of prawns is essential)

Bunch parsley & a good handful of basil leaves (or coriander if you are sans picky man!)

5 cloves garlic

1 or 2 red chillies depending how hot you like it

Bunch spring onions

Lime

Glass white wine (the rest of the bottle would be for the chef!) 

Salt and pepper to taste

Begin by peeling and chopping or crushing your garlic until it's nice and mushy.

Put on your pasta to boil (I used about 3-4 little balls of pasta per person).

Add a tablespoon or two of olive oil into a small pan and heat gently. 
Finely chop your chillies - if you want it even spicier then keep the seeds in, this is where most of the heat comes from. Then chop your spring onions and pop into the pan with the crushed garlic. 

The great thing about this dish is the colour! Sizzle your mixture until the garlic is just turning golden - take care not to burn and keep stirring it. Add salt and pepper to taste.

When your onions and chilli are softened and smelling amazing, cut your lime and squeeze it all in. Pour in your glass of wine and reduce until you can't taste the alcohol any more. 

Taste the liquid - it should be smooth and warm from the chilli, but not too acidic. If it is too acidic, gently simmer for a bit longer. The chorizo will give it more body so don't worry if you think it is missing something.

Chop your herbs and stir in with the prawns, and turn up the heat for a minute or two, just so the prawns are heated but not cooking too much. We don't want to give them too long or they'll be too tough.

When that's done, put in a bowl to one side and chop and fry your chorizo. This is my favourite part, because one or two slices always happen to make their way to my mouth. :) The pan should be spitting from the hot paprika-coloured oil and the edges of the sausage going nice and crisp. 

Add the prawn mix to the chorizo pan to give a final burst of heat. The liquid should taste amazing now. 
Once your pasta is done, drain and put back in the pan. Combine the chorizo & prawns and give it a gentle toss around. 
Tear up some extra herbs to put on top and serve with some extra pepper on top and voila!