Mark Gowen’s Casarecce in Cavolo Nero Sauce with Chorizo

Name: Casarecce in Cavolo Nero Sauce with Chorizo
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Ingredients: 7 oz. cooking chorizo; 1 medium onion; 8 leaves of cavolo nero / kale; 5.3 oz. lager; large handful of frozen peas; parmesan; extra virgin olive oil; 17 oz. fresh casarecce

Home cook Mark Gowan shares his winter-inspired pasta, a cozy mix of cavolo nero, chorizo and fresh pasta that proves how easy it is to adapt ingredients into a rich and flavorful meal.

By Mark Gowen

10:00 AM EST on November 25, 2025

Mark Gowen's Casarecce pasta in a creamy cavolo nero sauce topped with sliced chorizo and peas — Mark Gowen’s Casarecce pasta in a creamy cavolo nero sauce topped with sliced chorizo and peas.

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This is a recreation of a self-catering meal I cooked when I was on holiday on the Isle of Wight in the middle of winter. I’ve included it here to show you how easy and fun it can be to adapt recipes using the ingredients you have on hand. If I’d been able to find it, I would have used ‘nduja and made a drizzle to add to the finished pasta, but there wasn’t any to be found anywhere so chorizo was the next best alternative.

The chorizo was from UK supermarket Marks & Spencers, and the onions and cavolo nero were from the fantastic Harvey Browns food hall in Arreton on the Isle of Wight. I’ve become slightly addicted to tracking down more local farm shops and markets when I’m on holiday, where you can often find a great selection of locally sourced meat and vegetables along with international staples.

Casarecce in Cavolo Nero Sauce with Chorizo

Recipe by Mark Gowen

0.0 from 0 votes

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Ingredients

7 oz. 7 cooking chorizo
1 1 medium onion
8 8 leaves of cavolo nero / kale
5.3 oz. 5.3 lager
large handful of frozen peas
parmesan
extra virgin olive oil
17 oz. 17 fresh casarecce

Directions

Begin by chopping the onion finely and frying gently in EVO. When it’s tender, set it aside.
Fry the chorizo in some beer and then cut it into small slivers.
Remove the stalks from the cavolo and boil the leaves for a couple of minutes, then fish them out and pat them dry.
Boil the pasta and half way through the cooking time, throw in some frozen peas.
Blend the cavolo and onions with a handful of parmesan and some EVO and a little of the pasta water to make a sauce.
Transfer the cooked casarecce and peas to a tossing pan with the sauce and toss to combine.
Plate with the chorizo sprinkled on the top of each portion.