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Spicy Homemade Chorizo Pepper Noodles
10 min
20 min
Serves 3 to 4
The store was out of chorizo the one week I actually wanted it, so I made my own. Plain ground pork plus a handful of pantry spices gets you most of the way there, and you get to set the heat exactly where you want it. Cooking for one this week meant I could take it well past what the kids would tolerate. It makes enough for a couple of lunches too, which is the whole point.
Steps
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil for the noodles and cook them to al dente while the sauce comes together. Reserve a splash of the pasta water before draining.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Add the ground pork and break it up as it browns, about 5 minutes. Once it has some color, stir in the smoked paprika, cumin, crushed red pepper, garlic, salt, and vinegar. Cook another 2 minutes until it smells like chorizo and the spices bloom.
- Add the frozen peppers straight from the bag and cook until they soften and any water cooks off, about 5 minutes.
- Pour in the jar of sauce, lower the heat, and let it simmer for 5 to 8 minutes so the flavors marry. Loosen with a little pasta water if it tightens up.
- Fold in the drained noodles, toss to coat, and finish with parmesan.
Notes
- The vinegar is not optionalThat little hit of acid is what makes plain ground pork read as chorizo instead of just spiced sausage. Add it with the dry spices so it cooks in. Leftovers keep three or four days and reheat with a splash of water.
