chorizo

Chorizo, lentil and bean stew

10 Comments / savoury, stew /

It’s mid October and the light for taking photos is lousy, but the weather (cold and blustery) demands comfort food of the highest order.  Mr OC had phoned at lunchtime asking if I had any recipes for lentils that he could make for his lunch the next day.  I took this as a hint that he wanted me to make something with lentils that he could take for his lunch. So we had some of this for tea with a pumpkin and potato mash and he took the rest in his flask today.

Serves 4

100g chorizo, diced chunkily
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 sprig rosemary, chopped finely
4 sage leaves, chopped finely
1 bay leaf
a glug of Madeira or Marsala or sherry (optional)
400g tin of tomatoes
100g split red lentils
400g tin of beans (I used three bean salad but you could use cannellini, kidney or whatever you like or have)
600ml vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste at the end of cooking

Method

Fry the onion in a little oil in a large saucepan for a few minutes until starting to go translucent.  Add the carrots and the garlic and continue to fry for a few more minutes until the carrot is beginning to become tender.  Add the chorizo and the herbs and fry until the oil begins to leach from the chorizo.  Pour in a good glug of Madeira wine (if using) and continue to cook until that has almost evaporated.  Pour in the tomatoes, the beans, lentils and the stock.  Bring to a simmer and simmer gently for at least 40 minutes (I left it in the simmering oven of the Aga for two hours).  Taste and season accordingly with salt and pepper. Serve with crusty bread or pumpkin and potato mash like I did last night.  A meal fit for a king, or a man who likes his stew.

 

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New potatoes with a chorizo and tomato sauce

21 Comments / potato, sauce, tomato /

Life has been busy and so dinners have mostly been quick and easy. This sauce is my store cupboard sauce that I turn to when I need something that requires little thought or effort.  The new potatoes are so delicious at the moment that I decided to serve the sauce with them instead of cooking pasta, which is a more usual accompaniment to this sauce.

It was really good – the melt in the mouth buttered potatoes were a delicious foil to this slightly acidic sauce.

100g chorizo sausage, sliced into 1 cm thick rings
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
400g tin of plum tomatoes, whizzed in a blender until smooth
1 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp capers

new potatoes
large knob of butter
chopped mint leaves

Method

Scrape the new potatoes and place in a saucepan. Cover with cold water.  Add ½ tsp salt to the water and 3 sprigs of mint.  Bring to the boil and then simmer until tender when you test with the point of a knife. Drain and return to the saucepan with the knob of butter.

Whilst the potatoes are cooking, place the chorizo, chilli and garlic in a pan with a little olive oil and cook for a minute or so. Add the tomatoes, the tomato puree and the caper berries. Season with salt and pepper.  Simmer until the potatoes are cooked.

Serve the chorizo sauce with the buttered potatoes and sprinkle with chopped mint.

 

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Sprouts, chorizo and chestnuts

4 Comments / chestnuts, chorizo, sprouts /

I love sprouts.  We had roast chicken last night and I was wondering how to dress my sprouts up.  I found some chorizo and I knew I had some vacuum packed chestnuts in the cupboard and so this dish came into being. It was very nice; the savoury tang of the sprouts combined with the salty tang of the chorizo and the sweetness of the chestnuts was just right. We will definitely be having this one again.

It’s hard to give quantities for this recipe, I used as much as we were likely to want to eat of each item.

sprouts
chorizo, diced
vacuum packed peeled chestnuts, roughly chopped

Method

Peel the top layer off each sprout and slice off the very bottom.  I don’t feel the need to put a cross in the bottom of the sprouts as life is too short and they cook just as well without it.  Put the sprouts in a pan and put in enough water to just cover them.  Bring them to the boil and simmer for about 7-8 mins until tender (or you could steam them until tender).  Drain the sprouts and leave to one side.  Fry the chorizo in a large pan for a few minutes over a medium heat until it begins to leech its golden oil.  Add the sprouts and the chestnuts and cook for a few minutes more, stirring gently,  until everything is piping hot and covered in the chorizo oil.  Serve immediately as a side dish.

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Chorizo, chickpea and kale

2 Comments / chickpea, chorizo, soup, stew, tomato /

chorizo chickpea and kale stew

I was inspired to make this because I was watching the Good Food channel (of which I watch far too much I admit!) and Rachel Allen made a version in her Favourite Foods programme which was followed shortly after by Market Kitchen and the chef in the market made a very similar version.  I took it as a sign!

I served it with a roast chicken last night and it was good, although it might have been better if I had reduced the tomato sauce a bit more so it was less of a soup and more of a sauce.  You can cook it to the consistency that you think you may prefer by just simmering it for longer if you want it more sauce-y than soupy.

You could substitute the chickpeas for butter beans and the kale for spinach or any other Brassica you have in the house.

1 chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
A good-sized chunk of chorizo, cubed (I used about 100g)
1 410g tin of chickpeas in water (no salt added) drained of most of the liquid
1 400g tin of tomatoes
kale ( I used about 100g), shredded
feta cheese to crumble over the top

Method

Heat a little olive oil over a medium heat and fry the chorizo until it begins to leach its golden fat, add the chilli and garlic and fry for another couple of minutes.  Add the tomatoes, breaking them up with a wooden spoon, add the chickpeas and a little bit of the water from the tin. Simmer gently for about 20 minutes or longer if you would prefer a thicker consistency.  Add the kale and  cook for another five minutes until the kale is tender. Scatter cubes of feta over the top and serve with lots of crusty bread to mop up the juices.

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