Baked Pasta with Chorizo and Mozzarella

Winter is here. I'm sad to say it, especially as we had one weekend of almost-summer in the midst of it all, but mostly we're surrounded by dark, wet, windy days. We wake to the sound of rain pelting the roof, the wind whistling under the eaves, and rattling at our door knocker. Outside it's pitch black and it sounds like the world is coming to an end.  With umbrella inside out I arrive at work drenched and shiver as the air-conditioning struggles to keep up with the crazy change in temperature. The sky outside is dark or darker, the rain big, fat drops, or never-ending icy-cold curtains. Across the street does not exist. I dread home-time because it means leaving the safety of the office and braving the outside. I'm a chicken, but I haven't managed to invent a tele porter and so the elements are not my friend on days like these. 

And so amidst all this doom and gloom you need some serious comfort food, something warming for the body and soul, thoughts of which sustain you through the day and allow you to sleep through the stormy nights.  Thankfully the latest issue of Dish magazine has an Italian focus, and it's hard to get more comforting than pasta, cheese, spicy meats and thick tomato sauces.  This dish contains them all. It's warming and comforting and homely and sends you off into a nice little pasta coma which is the perfect way to end a long hard day at work, and an evening spent battling the world on the way home. It has the added bonus of requiring a hot stove top and a hot oven so it'll heat the kitchen up nicely while you work - I grabbed a magazine and leant against the oven to warm my back as it baked. The mozzarella is so deliciously creamy and the tang of the cottage cheese is a nice balance to this creaminess and to the sharpness of the Parmesan.  This is delicious in all kinds of ways and it'll keep your men-folk happy. Enjoy!

Baked Pasta with Chorizo and Mozzarella from Dish, issue #47

300g fusilli pasta

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp chilli flakes

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp oregano

2 x 400g cans tomates

1/2 cup cream

1 chorizo sausage, chopped

2 large handfuls baby spinach leaves

1/2 freshly grated Parmesan

250g cottage cheese or ricotta

1 x 150g ball of buffalo mozzarella

extra Parmesan, to serve

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.  Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. Drain and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and when hot add the garlic, chilli, cinnamon and oregano and let sizzle for a few seconds.  Add the tomatoes, season and bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 15 minutes. Add the cream, chorizo, spinach and Parmesan and stir to wilt the spinach and then add the pasta.

Place a large spoonful of the pasta mix in the bottom of an ovenproof dish. Dot over half the cottage cheese then top with the rest of the pasta and the rest of the cottage cheese. Break the mozzarella into pieces and scatter over the top. Drizzle with a little olive oil and freshly grated pepper. 

Bake for 10 minutes until the cheese has melted and the pasta is bubbling. We topped ours with some extra Parmesan and some chopped Italian parsley. Yum.