Recipe: Pasta with Shellfish, Chorizo and Walnuts
Since we’ve been forced to cook for ourselves every evening, we’re lucky to be helped by Alison Roman’s simple but delicious dishes. The domestic goddess of the apocalypse has another real hit on her hands with her new cookbook Nothing Fancy, featuring hugely popular recipes like this pasta with shellfish, chorizo and walnuts.
Alison: “When I’m in the mood for pasta, it’s usually specifically pasta with shellfish. That briny liquid, the shellfish tangled like seaweed in strands of linguine – mouthwatering. Even in the most questionable Italian restaurant, I order linguine alla vongole, because just like pizza, linguine with shellfish always tastes pretty good, even when it hasn’t been prepared very well. This version, with some meaty, spicy chorizo, is simply incredibly delicious. With this combination of ingredients, it’s practically impossible to go wrong, but the sauce still makes or breaks the dish. For this, you use the briny liquid from the shells and especially the pasta cooking water. So make sure you save it.”
How to make pasta with shellfish, chorizo and walnuts
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.
- Roast the walnuts on a baking sheet for about 10 minutes, until brown and fragrant. Let them cool, then chop them finely. In a bowl, mix the chopped walnuts, parsley and a pinch of the chopped garlic. Grate the lemon zest over the bowl. Cut the lemon into quarters and set it aside for later. Season the walnut mixture with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Cook the pasta until al dente according to the package instructions. The pasta should still have some bite, as it will continue cooking in the frying pan.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan or heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Add the chorizo sausages and fry for about 5 minutes, until browned and just cooked through. Add the remaining garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Fry, stirring occasionally, for about 2 minutes, until the garlic just begins to turn golden brown. Add the shellfish and cover the pan (shake the pan occasionally so they cook evenly). After 3 minutes, check whether the shellfish are cooked; all the shells should have opened. If not, give them another minute.
- Drain the pasta and reserve about 500 ml of the cooking water.
- Add the pasta and 250 ml of the cooking water to the frying pan and stir everything together. Heat for about 5 minutes over medium-high to high heat, shaking and swirling the pan regularly, until a thick, glossy sauce has formed (the cooking water contains starch, which acts as a kind of binding agent).
- Season the pasta with salt and pepper. Before serving, scatter the walnut mixture over it and serve the lemon wedges separately.
Title: Nothing Fancy
Author: Alison Roman
Price: €27,99
Publisher: Spectrum
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