I’ve been up in Sydney in the last few days, soaking up the beautiful sunshine and enjoying the views and water as well as all the events that were happening over the weekend. There was so much going on my head was spinning…and of course, we had so much food that I could hardly walk (even though we had to walk a lot). Sydney is a beautiful place, the weather and the scenery makes people livelier and healthier, or at least that’s the effect it had on me.
I had this sudden thought that I want to move up there, something I’ve never considered on the many trips I’ve had to Sydney. I’m not sure what changed this time. I blame everything on the age, maybe ageing will change people’s perspectives of where they want to live just like it has changed my taste for food over the years?
Perhaps I wouldn’t like it as much if I moved there permanently? What you do you think Sydney-siders?
Either way, I have neglected the blog for the duration of my holiday, for that I’m sorry. I need to pick up the pace and schedule posts like Lorraine does at Not Quite Nigella. She’s my inspiration and I really admire the effort she puts into her blog.
Maybe being in Sydney will make me write more? Although I really doubt that.
I had the best marinara pasta when I was in Sydney. I never quite liked them at restaurants before since the seafood mixes used were often not fresh or there was not enough sauce, resulting in a slightly too fishy taste on the palate. This one (which I will blog about later) was so good I was quite impressed. I used to only like meaty pastas but after this experience, I think marinara and other seafood pastas have risen significantly on the pasta scale.
I made a pasta bake a little while before I left for Sydney using chorizos, although it was delicious, I must say, I preferred the marinara. But of course, I will still share it with you since I dislike wasting anything.
Note:I did something stupid when I was making the pasta. I’m not sure why I put in the jar of pasta sauce (in the background) because I never ended up using it. I had a bottle of opened red wine and that just seemed much tastier to me, feel free to use pasta sauce if you want to though but I have changed the recipe to reflect the fact that I used red wine instead of pasta sauce.
You can substitute regular sausages for the chorizo or using meatballs or mince also works fine.
Chorizo pasta bake
Serves 2-3
Ingredients
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 100g penne or other tube shaped pasta
• 1 can of whole peeled tomatoes (usually 400g)
• 2 sprigs of oregano or thyme
• 2 cloves of garlic
• half brown onion
• Dash of red wine (roughly 100ml)
• 1 chorizo, sliced into 0.5cm thickness
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 4 medium mushrooms
• Handful of grated cheddar (or other) cheese
• Salt and pepper
Instructions
1. Pre-heat oven to 210C.
2. Heat oil on medium frying pan on medium high, and cook onions until fragrant but not browned.
3. Add in garlic and chorizo and cook a further 5 minutes until the chorizo slightly colours.
4. Add in oregano, can of tomatoes, red wine and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook for a further 20 minutes or until it’s the desired consistency. If too thick, you can add a little bit of water but remember to re-season to taste. If you find it too sour (like I often do) you can add in a bit of tomato sauce to taste, this will mellow out the sour taste.
5. Heat a medium saucepan with water and add a dash of salt to the water. Bring to the boil.
6. Cook pasta in the water until al dente, follow instructions on pasta packet for best cooking times.
7. Drain pasta well and then put into the frying pan and mix well in the prepared sauce.
8. Transfer to a bake tray and top with grated cheese.
9. Bake for roughly 10 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown. Serve hot.
Question time: What’s your favourite pasta dish? Do you prefer tomato based sauces or creamy? I always tend to order tomato based pastas just because I’m not terribly good at finishing creamy ones. 
On a side note, the winner of the La Zuppa competition has been drawn and I have updated the original post about who the winner is. They will also be notified via email. Thanks to everyone who entered and hope I can have such a great giveaway again!
20 comments… add one
Rosa September 11, 2012, 11:46 pm
A scrumptious casserole! Chorizo is such a great ingredient as it imparts a wonderful flavor to any dish.
Cheers,
Rosa
Yy September 12, 2012, 12:31 am
mmmmm yummy… i always wanted to get a casserole thing!! yum
Xuan @ My Kitchen Fixation September 12, 2012, 2:13 am
I seriously cannot get enough of chorizo, so this sounds so awesomely yummy right now…
yummychunklet September 12, 2012, 11:35 am
What a fantastic pasta! I love that chorizo is incorporated.
marla September 12, 2012, 2:53 pm
Just discovered your blog via Foodgawker. Love it!!
Jenny @ Ichigo Shortcake September 12, 2012, 3:59 pm
Thanks Marla!
Glad you like my blog!
מתכונים September 12, 2012, 9:52 pm
Simple and delicious recipes.
Love your blog
Baker Street September 12, 2012, 10:53 pm
One word – heaven!
kitchenriffs September 13, 2012, 7:22 am
Although I like white pasta sauces a lot, I almost always prefer a red one. One, I love tomatoes, Two, they tend to be more rustic, which speaks to me. The chorizo looks great, although I’d probably substitute Italian sausage (I like the spicy ones with fennel). I add red wine to my pasta sauce all the time! Such nice flavor.
Daisy@Nevertoosweet September 13, 2012, 9:34 pm
OOhhhh i’m gonna ask Mr Bao to make this tomorrow! We still have chorizo that we need to eat in the fridge
Thanks for the great idea! So jealous that you went to Sydney! Did you go to Laduree?
I definitely agree with you Lorraine, Not Quite Nigella is my blogging idol too
you’re in inspiration too your photos are always so pretty!
Jenn and Seth September 14, 2012, 9:23 am
oh gosh this looks like some fantastic pasta! i’d love some of this right now!
Charles September 14, 2012, 11:45 am
Lovely – all that delicious chorizo… my favourite thing ever I must say! Fabulous rich colours too. Perfect kind of dish now that we’re coming into Autumn!
Libby @ theveryveryhungrycaterpillar.com September 14, 2012, 6:56 pm
Haha I never used to want to leave Melbourne but the last year or so, I’ve been wanting to leave. I find that I really enjoy myself every time I’m interstate (and no, it’s not just because I get to see the bf who lives in QLD!) but I do like being away from Melbourne itself. Weird.
I love Sydney; it’s a beautiful city but I can’t see myself living there for some reason. I would love to go on weekend trips up there more often though because omg, the food! hahaha.
ross September 14, 2012, 7:01 pm
Hey Jenny……I read on an american blog somewhere that you were interested in Garlic Scapes I am an organic garlic farmer from the central highlands of victoria….i sell 1000s of them at the farmers markets in ballarat,daylesford and trentham the problem is they only have a 2 to 3 week window usually late october drop me a line and i will let you know when they are good to go i could even post you some love in food ross
Jenny @ Ichigo Shortcake September 14, 2012, 11:08 pm
Hi Ross, yes I was interested in garlic scapes since they have the most fascinating appearance! I’m sure they taste fantastic too. Let me know via email when they’re ready and maybe I’ll have you send me some then.
Choc Chip Uru September 18, 2012, 9:21 am
Agh, can’t believe I missed this bake, it looks ridiculously delicious! I am sure my family would enjoy it, bookmarked
Thank you!
Also NQN may be a blogging idol for me as well, but you are well up there
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Nami | Just One Cookbook September 18, 2012, 4:23 pm
Looks so delicious!! We had pasta tonight but nearly as delicious looking as this one. I should have come here before starting to make dinner. Saving for next week pasta day.
You really have nice props that make your pictures stand out even more!!
tastyfoodsnaps September 30, 2012, 6:01 pm
yum! I would be so tempted to scrape most of the top layer
Kikukat May 3, 2014, 2:42 pm
I’d like to know more about the “chorizo”. In Hawaii, what most people know as chorizo is an oily sausage which used to come in a large green can. From my experience living away from Hawaii, chorizo is something else. Could you please clarify. This looks so yummy.
Jenny @ Ichigo Shortcake May 11, 2014, 11:15 am
What I meant here was the Spanish variety that’s smoked and salty. It doesn’t come in a can I’m sure, you can usually find then at delis or supermarkets might carry them too.