Recipe: Pasta Mama’s Creamy Chorizo Rigatoni for Cosy Winter Parties

Need a chef for a private pop-up dining experience? Jenna Holmes, aka Pasta Mama of Pasta Club fame, is your gal. Want advice on styling your interiors with greenery? Holmes also curates indoor jungles as Plant Mama. Planning a Mediterranean holiday? Visit P Mami, a travel-focused Substack by Holmes. And looking for a winter party drink? Holmes recommends a “beautiful and smooth” Donna Lorenza Chianti DOCG.

She wears many hats, and there’s a common thread underlying them all: personal connection. That’s why when it’s too cold to head out and socialise, Holmes invites her mates over to her place instead. After all, it’s a quick pivot from summer entertaining to the cosiness of indoor dinner parties and long lunches at home.

“When it starts to get cold – particularly when it’s too cool to even go out to a restaurant – all I want to do is have people over for dinner,” she says. “I’m always seeking warmth in all aspects of my life … it’s a common thread through everything for me.”

She brings that warmth in a few ways: tablescaping with mismatched plates, ambient music and warm lighting. “I rarely have any overhead lighting. It’s always lamps on the ground and candles on the table. They’re a vibe no matter what,” she says.

True to her pasta-loving roots, she makes a creamy chorizo rigatoni for the centrepiece of her winter entertaining menu. “This recipe is the perfect mix of creamy, spicy, meaty and a bit fresh. I feel like the lemon and parsley at the end really brighten it up,” she says.

It also pairs perfectly with the Donna Lorenza Chianti DOCG. “Sangiovese is one of my favourite varieties from the Chianti region [in Italy],” Holmes says. “I love how the deep flavour of the wine matches the creaminess of the pasta.”

She’s also fallen in love with the idea of serving her guests wine and snacks by the kitchen bench while she finishes off the main dish on the stove. It’s an entertaining strategy she implemented to make the most of her open-plan apartment space.

“I now live in a one-bedroom apartment without a full dining table, so when my friends come over, we stand around my steel kitchen bench while yapping and eating the entrees with homemade focaccia while I make the mains.”

No matter the time of year, the Pasta Mama likes to keep accompaniments fresh and seasonal. In winter, that means using chargrilled greens like broccoli or beans topped with almonds and labneh. For dessert, satisfy the craving for comfort food with a pear tartine with caramel and crème fraîche.

Thanks to Holmes’s guide to the perfect winter dinner party, there’s not much else to plan – just send the invites.

Jenna Holmes’s creamy chorizo pasta

Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

400g rigatoni or casarecce
Olive oil
2 chorizo sausages, skin removed
1 tsp butter
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 medium shallots, finely diced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup cream
2 large handfuls baby spinach
½ cup pecorino, grated
½ bunch parsley, finely chopped
Juice of ½ lemon
Salt, to season
Pepper, to taste

Method

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook pasta until al dente. Reserve a cup of pasta water, then drain the pasta and set aside.

Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the chorizo, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, and cook until browned and crisp around the edges. Remove from the pan and set aside, leaving the oil behind.

Reduce heat to medium and add butter, garlic and shallots to the pan and cook for 3–4 minutes until softened and fragrant.

Stir through the tomato paste and cook for 1–2 minutes until darkened slightly and caramelised.

Pour in the cream, along with a splash of pasta water, stirring until silky. Return the chorizo to the pan and simmer gently for a couple of minutes.

Add the spinach and stir until just wilted. Toss through the pasta, pecorino, parsley and lemon juice, adding more pasta water if needed to loosen.

Finish with extra pecorino, black pepper and parsley.

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Liquorland. Donna Lorenza Chianti DOCG is available at Liquorland – shop online now.