Fall

Penne with Chicken, Chorizo and Chile

by:
January  3, 2015
5
4 Ratings
Penne with Chicken, Chorizo and Chile
Photo by Sarah Tuck
  • Serves 4 to 6
Author Notes

After my husband and I had just bought our first home -- and were as poor as church mice -- he would often open the refrigerator door and say, “There’s nothing to eat!” I would scoff, scrounge around, then make something exactly like this -- an affordable, tasty, hearty pasta dish that is so much greater than the sum of its parts. It's also relatively easy to make -- simply cook the onion until caramelized with sun-dried tomatoes, chile flakes, garlic, and chorizo, then add white wine, chicken, and cream to create a creamy onion sauce to pour over the cooked penne with some pesto and Parmesan cheese. —From The Kitchen

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 dash chile flakes, to taste
  • 3 chorizo sausages, sliced
  • 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
  • 400 grams penne pasta
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 2 cups roast chicken, divided into bite-sized pieces
  • 1/2 cup cream
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, plus some for serving
  • 1 handful chopped parsley, plus some for serving
  • 5 tablespoons basil pesto, to taste
Directions
  1. Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot and add the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat for 15 minutes, until the onion is softened but not yet browned.
  2. Add garlic, salt and pepper, chile flakes, sun-dried tomatoes and chorizo and cook for another 10 minutes.
  3. Add wine, chicken, and cream to the onion mix and bring to a simmer.
  4. Cook pasta according to the package's instructions, until only just al dente, and save half a cup of pasta water.
  5. When ready to serve, add the pasta and reserved pasta water to the onion sauce sauce along with the Parmesan and parsley. Stir to combine. Serve topped with a few spoonfuls of basil pesto, a little extra Parmesan and parsley, if desired, and a good grinding of black pepper.
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  • Amy Tsay
    Amy Tsay
  • Dena
    Dena
  • From The Kitchen
    From The Kitchen
  • sexyLAMBCHOPx
    sexyLAMBCHOPx
From The Kitchen
I absolutely love food and food styling and have been writing a blog with my own recipes since July 2012. I also have a Pinterest page at http://pinterest.com/fromthekitchen/ and a Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/FromTheKitchenNZ

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7 Reviews

MrsCornell
MrsCornell May 4, 2022
Delicious! Loved it, thanks so much!
 
Heidi
Heidi November 13, 2015
Until I actually looked at the picture, I didn't realize that the recipe called for Spanish chorizo. I think, in general, Food52 recipes can be unclear, even for those of us who consider ourselves home chefs. Also, what does it mean, "crushed" garlic? I used my garlic press, and I believe that's what the author meant, but again, it could have been interpreted as crushed with a knife and sauteed in bigger pieces. Also, why is everything else in American measurements, and suddenly the penne is 400 grams. Which, by the way, is 52 grams less than one box. Pet peeve.

All that aside, I liked the recipe.
 
From T.
From T. November 14, 2015
Hi Heidi - I live in New Zealand (down below Australia, where I wrote this recipe), our chorizo packaging doesn't specify Mexican or Spanish here, most recipes here use 'crushed garlic', because in New Zealand it's called a garlic crusher (not press), and we measure things in grams...and I expect our box sizes are different :) Hope this explains!
Cheers
Sarah
 
Amy T.
Amy T. September 7, 2015
I think you meant spanish chorizo. Mexican chorizo is still tasty but I shall try it with spanish next time. Should be better.
 
Dena
Dena April 6, 2015
I don't know how you got the chorizo to slice - mine fell apart the minute I opened the package. At any rate, it was still super easy to make and delicious! I added a little extra cream since I had it, made it a bit creamer and tempered the spices - not everyone likes the spiciness of the sausage so I wanted to keep it flavorful while making it milder.
 
From T.
From T. January 19, 2015
Thanks so much - glad you like the look of it! :)
 
sexyLAMBCHOPx
sexyLAMBCHOPx January 19, 2015
This looks awesome.