I’m always a fan of meals that I can whip up using the contents of my cupboards/fridge/freezer. This recipe fulfills exactly that brief as I always have chorizo in the fridge and a large packet of squid rings in the freezer. Together they are a lovely pairing but when I was whipping up this pasta, I fancied incorporating a new flavour. Chipotle paste was the perfect choice, it adds a lovely smoky flavour to the dish and stands up well to the fishy flavour of the squid and fish stock. A fishy, meaty, smoky delight!

Squid and Chorizo Pasta 

Serves 2 = 10sp per person (Flex)

Ingredients

200g squid rings, raw (defrosted in the fridge if previously frozen)

1 x onion, finely sliced

2 x garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

35g chorizo, cubed

30g roasted red peppers, roughly chopped (or 1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced)

Handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

1 tbsp tomato puree

1/2 tbsp chipotle paste

1 fish stock cube made up with 250ml of water

1 lemon

Handful of fresh parsley

120g dried pasta

Method

Mist a large frying pan with low calorie cooking spray and add the onions, garlic and chilli. Fry for a few minutes until the onions start to soften. Add the chorizo, tomatoes and peppers and fry for another few minutes until the chorizo releases its oil and it colours the onions. Add the tomato puree and chipotle paste and fry for another minute and then add the fish stock. Stir well and season.

At this point pop the pasta on to cook in some slightly salted boiling water.

Simmer the sauce while the pasta is cooking. It should reduce nicely (if it remains a little loose, mix 1/2 tsp cornflour with a few drops of cold water to make a paste and add to the sauce. This will thicken it up a little).

A few minutes before the pasta is ready add the squid to the pan and simmer until cooked through. Remove from the heat and stir through the juice of 1/2 a lemon and the parsley. Tip the drained pasta into the sauce, mix together so the pasta is well coated in the sauce and serve in two bowls. Top with a final sprig of parsley and serve with a 1/4 lemon per person.

Enjoy!