I had a tremendous lunch at Cathy’s the other week, featuring a millionaire shortbread trifle and an unctuous confit chicken leg. The star of it for me though was a creamy chorizo and butter bean stew, a rich and textured dish spiked with tht lovely Spanish sausage. It’s one taken from Jason Atherton’s Gourmet Food for a Fiver book and it’s absolutely fantastic. I ran right home and did it myself later that week.
The only change I made was to roast the chicken instead of confit due to time constraints, no other reason. I urge you to try the beans though, they’re dynamite.
Roast chicken with creamy chorizo butter beans (serves 2):
Mix together half the thyme with the paprika and a generous dose of salt and pepper. Blend with a glug of olive oil and smear this paste all over the chicken legs. Pop the garlic halves in a baking tray and pop the chicken legs on top of the garlic. Bung in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour, until the juices run clear when poked with a skewer.
When the chicken is about 15 minutes away from done, fry the chorizo in a pan until browned. Remove to one side and add the remaining thyme, cream and stock to the pan. Turn the heat up to get everything bubbling away. When the liquids have reduced by half, drain the butter beans and throw them in the pan, and the chorizo too.
Simmer for 10 minutes and check for seasoning. Serve with wilted spinach.
When I first received 30 Minute Meals for Christmas I tore through it, merrily Post-It noting all the ones that looked interesting, like the beef hash, chicken pie, black forest affogato… one that didn’t get the magic yellow sticker was his 30 minute pizza. How on earth can you get a passable pizza in 30 minutes? I was very doubtful it could work.
When the series came round I watched this episode with great interest. He serves it with three salads, and I was amazed that he kicked off by making one of those! He’s only got 30 minutes, and he’s not even using the full half hour for the pizza! Then as per usual, it was a whirlwind of chuck-it-in-the-blender and spread it into the pan. The method reminded me of Heston Blumenthal’s perfect pizza, where he starts it on a hot pan, then transfers it to the grill to finish. And Jamie’s effort looked pretty good, so I relented and gave it a Post-It note.
Then by happy coincidence Domino’s Pizza contact me and ask if I want to try making something that rivals the Spanish Sizzler. The pizza offers chorizo, roast chicken, green peppers and roquito peppers. I’ve previously taken on their Double Decadence with my own pesto pizza to great effect, so rolled my sleeves up in anticipation of another showdown.
Jamie’s dough turned out surprisingly OK. I made it a touch too thick, so next time I would reduce the flour down and add a touch more salt. But jolly nice all the same! How could I doubt the Jamie technique? The toppings themselves were a well-worn combo: spicy, meaty chorizo; milky mozzarella and the pop of tangy fennel seeds. Great!
Whack the grill on high and put your largest, widest frying pan on a very high heat. Get another pan on a low heat. Stick the normal blade in the food processor.
Put the chorizo slices in the small pan and allow to brown. When crisp on one side turn off the heat while you get on with everything else.
Pop the flour and water in the food processor, along with a big splash of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Whizz until it forms a solid, clean ball – shake in a touch more flour if necessary. Remove from the food processor and roll out in a rough circle until approx 1cm thick. Transfer to the frying pan and push out into the edges of the pan.
Pop the tomatoes, paprika and basil in a liquidizer with a splash of extra virgin olive oil and some seasoning, then crush in the garlic. Whizz to a fine slush then spoon a thin layer on top of the pizza in the pan (leftovers make a great pasta sauce). Scatter over the fennel seeds, dot with mozzarella and place the chorizo crispy-side down on the pizza.
When the pizza is crusty and starting to blacken underneath, pop the pizza under the grill. Cook for a further 4 minutes or until done.
I had half the dough left over from pesto pizza, and it occurred to me that I’d never made one of my favourite Italian foods: calzone. That lovely folded pizza, like a Cornish pasty spending a gap year travelling.
I was bowled over by how tasty it was. It really was great, especially when paired with a zingy mustardy salad.
Chorizo calzone:
For the dough (makes 2 x 30cm pizzas; I used half for two calzones):
500g strong bread flour
100g fine polenta
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
7g dry yeast
4 tablespoons olive oil
300ml lukewarm water
Filling:
100g chorizo, cut into chunks
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 tin tomatoes (a good brand will help you a lot here)
6 pieces baby mozzarella
A few thyme leaves
In a jug mix the yeast, oil, water and sugar together and leave for a few minutes while you get on with the other dry ingredients.
For the pizza base, bring the flour, polenta and salt together in a bowl. I use a food mixer which makes the next stage dead easy.
Pour the wet mix into the dry and let a dough hook do its work for about 5-6 minutes. If you’re doing it by hand push and knead it together until smooth and elastic. Cover the dough with a damp teatowel and leave somewhere warm for an hour – it should double in size.
When the dough has risen, pre-heat the oven as high as it will go. If you have a pizza stone, get it in now. Otherwise a cheap but conductive metal tray will work.
Fry the chorizo in a hot dry pan until one side colours. Add the peppers and continue to cook until the peppers have softened slightly. Remove the ingredients to one side with a slotted spoon, leaving the oils behind. Add the tomatoes and thyme to this pan, keeping the heat very high. Let it bubble down and reduce until thick then remove from the heat.
Push the dough into a thin, round shape on a floured surface. Go as thin as you can. Spread some tomato puree over half the calzone, dot with mozzarella and add half the chorizo/pepper mix. Spoon over a little more tomato sauce, then fold the calzone over, crimping the edges.
When it’s ready take it to the oven. The pizza will bake for anywhere between 10 – 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of your base and the temperature of your oven. (Quicker is better). Serve with a green salad.
A real pot of leftovers, this one. Tons of stuff in the cupboard, fridge and freezer that all needed using up. Leave it in the casserole, come back hours later… lovely.
Pork and chestnut casserole:
500g pork shoulder, chopped
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
2 carrots, diced
2 courgettes, diced
100ml marsala wine
1 teaspoon paprika
2 sprigs rosemary
50g chorizo
250g cooked chestnuts
2 tins tomatoes
500ml chicken stock
For the polenta:
100g quick-cook polenta
400ml vegetable stock
5 dried wild mushrooms
Preheat the oven to 140°C.
In a large casserole, fry the pork in batches until browned. Remove to one side while you gently fry the onions and garlic in the same pan.
When softened, turn the heat up, add the marsala wine and bubble furiously. When the wine has reduced, add the pork, carrot, courgette and paprika and give a ruddy good stir. Throw in the rosemary, chestnuts, chorizo, tomatoes and stock and stir thoroughly. Pop the lid on and leave in the oven for three hours. Check on it from time to time and add hot water if necessary.
For the polenta, first grind the mushrooms to a powder in a pestle and mortar. Get the stock to the boil in a saucepan and gradually add the polenta and mushroom dust in a steady stream, whisking all the time. Continue stirring for another two minutes and turn on to a cold plate.
When cool, cut the polenta into pieces and fry until browned and crisp. Serve with the casserole, drizzled with balsamic vinegar.
