Fideos with Chicken, Prawn and Chorizo

I must say I was intrigued with the name of this recipe when I saw it - Chorizo & Prawn Fideos.  I looked over the ingredient list - nothing strange and exotic here - so I did as any foodie would do - did a little "googling" and found out that fideos have been around for a very long time.  Fideos are a form of pasta that is eaten throughout the Mediterranean, and in particular Spain.   It is used in the making of "dry soups" and paella based dishes.  They are a long thin shape and similar to vermicelli.  In a "dry soup" they are browned, then liquid is added, the dish is then cooked until almost all of the liquid has been absorbed, leaving you with a "dry soup"!  Interesting concept - is it sloppy pasta or a soup with little liquid???

I decided to change the recipe slightly so that I ended up with a paella based pasta dish.  It was really good, sometimes paella can be tricky, the rice can be over, or under cooked - but with the pasta - perfect results - and all the flavour of the rice based dish.  So here is my version of the recipe that I found.

Fideos with Chicken, Prawn and Chorizo


Serves 5-6


1 kg greens prawns (approx 24 prawns), peeled, leaving tails intact
2 chorizo sausages, halved lengthways, thickly sliced
4 chicken thighs, fat removed, cut into 2 cm strips
1 red onion, halved, thinly sliced
4 cloves crushed garlic
2 tsp sweet hungarian paprika
350g thin dried spaghetti, broken into thirds
1 cup passata (tomato pasta sauce)
4 cups (1 L) chicken stock
2 dried bay leaves
1 cup frozen peas


Heat a large saucepan over medium high heat.  Add the chorizo and red onion.  Cook stirring for 3 minutes, then add the garlic, the peas and the chicken, continue cooking for approximately another 5 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked.  


Add the paprika and the spaghetti, stir to coat.  Add the passata, the stock, and the bay leaves.  Simmer, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente and the liquid is absorbed.


When the pasta is almost cooked - at around the 10 + minutes stage, heat a small frypan over medium high heat - add a little olive oil and cook the prawns quickly, until they change colour, and are cooked through.  Remove from the frypan.


When the pasta is cooked, add the prawns to the pasta, and stir through.  Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.


The result - well I thought it was really good, with great flavour!  "The Darlings" didn't care for the chorizo too much - but they more than made up for it with the garlic bread - so they were happy.  This is a great entertaining meal - one big plate that everyone can share, add some garlic bread, a glass of wine and you have a feast!