Smokey Chicken and Chorizo Linguine

I absolutely LOVE the flavour and aroma of smoked paprika. Although this is a pasta dish, I have made the sauce with a very Spanish/Portuguese character.

 

INGREDIENTS for 4 people

A few glugs of olive oil                                                              

½ onion chopped finely (the chopper on the right is great if you have sensitive eyes)
½ green pepper chopped finely
1 long celery stalk chopped finely
½ red pepper  - sliced
½ yellow pepper - sliced
4 cloves of garlic - sliced
125 gm button mushrooms, sliced.
15 black olives. remove pips and chop up into small bits
1 chorizo sausage finedly sliced
350 gm chicken fillets cut into small bite sized pieces.
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon chilli flakes (this is optional)
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese, plus extra to sprinkle on at the table.
a large handful of fresh basil leaves.
Salt & Black Pepper

METHOD

Gently fry the onion, green pepper and celery in a large pan until soft.
Add the red and yellow peppers and fry for another few minutes
Now add the garlic and allow to cook for a couple of minutes.
Now add the mushroom slices put a lid onto the pan and allow to simmer for about 5 mins.

In the meantime, in another pan, fry the chorizo until crispy and set aside. Now brown the chicken in the same pan, seasoning it with salt or celery salt while it is in the pan.
Transfer the deliciously crispy Chorizo and the browned chicken to the large pan with the vegetables.
Sprinkle on the smoked paprika, chilli flakes and olives.
Pour in the can of chopped tomatoes and mix together. Season with salt & pepper.
Put the lid back on and simmer for 10 - 15 mins.

While the sauce is simmering, cook the linquine. If it is dried, it should take 10 mins. Fresh will only take about 6 minutes. Remember to always cook pasta with lots of water  and high heat. The water should be boiling and bubbling while it cooks, and the pasta will not stick.

When the linguine is cooked, transfer directly from the pot, with spaghetti tongs, directly to the pan with the sauce, sprinkle on the parmesan cheese and the basil leaves, and toss around so that the pasta is properly coated with the sauce and the basil leaves just wilt slightly but stay green. Looks good and tastes even better. Bon Appetito!!!