Yesterday I encouraged you to experiment in the kitchen, and this dish is proof that messing around with ingredients pays off. What you see is a creamy tomato pasta with Mexican chorizo, black olives, cilantro, sour cream and candied jalapeños. It’s bold, comforting, and an example of how small changes can create something new and delicious.
With Thanksgiving just a couple of days away, I’ll keep this brief.
Innovation in food rarely starts from scratch. Many beloved dishes — Buffalo wings, nachos, baked potatoes, pickles, jams and more — were created because someone experimented. Even ingredients we take for granted, like olives, needed processing to become enjoyable. The takeaway is simple: try things. Swap one herb for another, use shallots instead of onions, or substitute Greek yogurt for sour cream. Ask yourself what qualities make two ingredients interchangeable — texture, flavor, aroma — and treat cooking like a flexible puzzle where many combinations work. There’s a perfect dish out there for everyone; the fun is in discovering it.
This recipe grew out of tweaking the dish I shared yesterday. If you prepare both, you’ll notice they use a similar method and share textures, yet they become two distinct meals through simple differences in ingredients and seasoning.
Before I sign off to finish my Thanksgiving preparations, I want to say thank you. I appreciate everyone who visits Foodie With Family — whether you stop by daily, weekly, monthly or occasionally. Your feedback and presence make this such a rewarding project for me. I’m grateful for your support and wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving.
With love,
Rebecca
One Pot Tex Mex Pasta Toss
Rebecca Lindamood
Ingredients
- 1 pound Mexican-style chorizo
- 1 onion peeled and diced
- 5 cloves garlic peeled and diced or pressed
- 1 dried arbol chili pepper whole
- 1 can about 14 ounces tomatoes (diced, crushed, or puree) or ~1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
- 1 cilantro stem whole
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 5 cups chicken stock
- 1 pound uncooked dry shaped pasta Campanelle, small shells, cellentani, fiori, rotini, or any pasta with hollows to hold sauce and meat
- 1/4 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
- 4 ounces cream cheese or Neufchâtel half of an 8-ounce brick, cut into cubes
- Optional garnishes:
- minced fresh cilantro
- halved or chopped black olives
- chopped sweet onions
- sour cream
- candied jalapeños
Instructions
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In a stockpot over medium heat, break up the chorizo and cook until it’s fully cooked through. Browning isn’t required; just make sure it’s done. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked chorizo to a plate. If your chorizo is lean, you may need to add a little oil for the next step; if it’s fatty, reserve about 1 tablespoon of the drippings for cooking the aromatics.
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Drain all but about 1 tablespoon of drippings from the pot. If using lean chorizo, add 1 tablespoon peanut or canola oil. Return the pot to low heat and add the diced onion, garlic, and whole arbol chili. Cook, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes until the onion is translucent and soft.
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Pour in the chicken stock and tomatoes and raise the heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil, stir, then add the pasta, half of the reserved chorizo, the cilantro stem, oregano and cumin. Use tongs to toss until the pasta softens enough to be submerged. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is al dente. Remove from heat.
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Stir in the grated Monterey Jack and the cubed cream cheese, cover, and let stand 5 minutes. After resting, toss the pasta until the cream cheese melts and the sauce thickens and coats the noodles.
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Serve topped with the remaining chorizo and any combination of minced cilantro, black olives, sweet onions, sour cream and candied jalapeños, as desired.
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided as a courtesy. Calculate nutrition based on the actual ingredients you use with your preferred nutrition tool.
did you make this recipe?
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