*Revised Recipe*

I made this a couple of weeks ago for my Mum & Partner but when I went to photograph it, my camera battery was flat.  When I told them my ideas for the ingredients they both kind of gave me a bit of a “What the?” look, but once they were tucking in they were pretty impressed!  I have to say, I was a little partial to this combo too so it was no drama at all to cook it again so that I could get the money shot.  Not your traditional pasta combo but a seriously tasty one at that!

This is the new version as the old one was served with linguine but you can literally serve it with any type of pasta.  I simply like the fact that all of the little diced up prawns, chorizo & veggies fill the little orecchiette (translated to ‘little ears’) and you were able to taste a little of everything in one bite!

Prep time:  30  Minutes              Cooking time:  20  Minutes              $$ Medium Budget

Serves 4-5

500gm of orecchiette pasta, cooked to packet instructions (approx 12 minutes for al dente`)

1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

2 chorizo sausages, diced

200gm of raw prawn meat, chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 small red onion, diced

1 baby fennel bulb, diced (be sure to remove the hard centre core)

1 small eggplant, diced

1 bag of baby spinach leaves

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

1/2 a cup of dry white wine

1 tsp of chilli flakes

1 heaped tsp of smoked paprika

2 tbs of finely chopped continental parsley

100gm of soft goat’s cheese (or feta if you prefer)

A handful of toasted pine nuts

Freshly grated parmesan and a drizzle of extra virgin for garnish

Baby shiso leaves (optional) or chopped parsley for garnish

Heat a large frypan to nice and hot and fry the chorizo until golden and a little crispy.  Remove from the pan and place on a plate lined with paper towel until later.

Using the same pan, reduce the heat to medium and add the olive oil.  Lightly fry the onion, fennel and eggplant until soft and then add the garlic, chilli flakes and lemon rind and fry for a further 1-2 minutes.  Return the chorizo to the pan and sprinkle over the smoked paprika , stir to combine and then add the lemon juice and white wine.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for a few minutes.  If the mixture looks like it is drying out add a couple of tablespoons of pasta water.

When the pasta is almost done, add the prawns and baby spinach leaves to the pan.  Cook for a couple of minutes until the spinach has wilted and the prawns have changed colour and then add half the chopped parsley.  Drain the pasta and add it to the pan, again using a bit of the pasta water if needed.  Toss well to combine.

Divide the pasta between four or five serving bowls.  Top with a smattering of parmesan, parsley and crumble over the goat’s cheese.  Finish with a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and enjoy!