Category: chorizo

Categories
balsamic vinegar basil chorizo courgettes pasta tomato

seriously good pasta bake

seriously good cherry tomato and balsamic vinegar pasta bake

If you’re a regular reader of this blog you might notice I do a lot of things “from scratch” (I really hate that phrase, like a badge of snobbish one-upmanship), because I enjoy it and I like knowing what goes into my dinner. In my time of course I’ve used pasta sauces and the like, and they range from OK to pretty good to truly vomit-inducing (usually ones that involve mascarpone).

I wouldn’t usually blog about such a jar but I happened to use a Seriously Good pasta sauce. These are Gordon Ramsay-devised with a 10p donation to Comic Relief for each jar sold. And no, Gordon doesn’t get a penny. There’s a bunch of flavours, and the one I used happened to be cherry tomato & balsamic. Peering over the ingredients list on the label is very surprising: you can pronounce everything. And I can buy all of them in any supermarket. That’s very reassuring.

I chucked it in a pasta bake with some chorizo and courgette, and it was lovely. Well worth a try – certainly if you find it on promotion, as it was in my local Sainsbury’s. At least bask in the glow of making a small donation to a good cause 🙂

Seriously good pasta bake (serves 4):

400g fusilli

100g chorizo, roughly diced

2 large courgettes

1 jar Seriously Good cherry tomato and balsamic sauce

Cheddar cheese

Some basil leaves, shredded

Splash of balsamic vinegar

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Get a pan of salted water on to boil and cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. Get on with the rest of the recipe and when ready, drain until needed.
  3. In a large oven-proof pan, heat a little oil and add the chorizo. Cook briefly until it starts to colour on all sides, then add the courgette.
  4. Continue to fry for 3-4 minutes, tossing frequently so the courgette gets coated in the rich chorizo juices and is starting to turn tender.
  5. Add the sauce, then refill the jar half-full with water. Sloosh it around to gather up the dregs of the sauce and pour into the pan. Bring up to the boil and then add the drained pasta. Make sure everything is well-mixed and pop into an oven for ten minutes, or until the tops of the pasta sticking out are starting to turn dark-brown.
  6. Scatter the basil over the top, grate some cheddar over and sprinkle with balsamic. Grind a little black pepper on top and a swirl of your best extra virgin olive oil, then return to the oven for a further minute or two, until the cheese has melted. Serve piping hot.
Categories
breadcrumbs chorizo cod food

cod with chorizo crust

I don’t often get the opportunity to cook with fish so when I do I go all out for big, meaty indulgences. Here I’m using one of my favourite ingredients, chorizo, to lend some poke to the flaky white fish. Parsley adds a welcome freshness and helps round out the flavours.

Cod with a chorizo crust:

300g piece of cod loin

Handful of breadcrumbs

200g chorizo, diced

1 teaspoon parsley

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Fry the chorizo in a little oil until browned. Don’t drain the pan, but put half the chorizo in a food processor with the breadcrumbs and parsley. Whizz until you have rust-coloured rubble. Taste (be careful here, I could easily eat a mountain of this on its own), maybe adding a splash of red wine vinegar if you think it could handle it.
  2. Press one side of the cod loin into the breadcrumbs, packing them densely. Fry in the same pan as before on the breadcrumb side until browned (about 4 minutes), then pop the pan in the oven for another 8 minutes. The cod will be ready when it flakes apart when squeezed between your fingers.
  3. After removing the pan from the oven, toss the remaining chorizo in the pan to warm through, and serve with wild rice and creme fraiche.
Categories
chicken chorizo food paprika peppers red onion

chicken and chorizo kebabs

As England melted under the usual immediate and surprising burst of sun + heat, I retreated to the paddling pool. Lovely it was too. Dinner has to feature a BBQ though. What’s in the fridge?

This is the result. A smoky and meaty BBQ skewered treat accompanied by a tangy and sweet pepper and onion salad. Marvellous. Make sure you really scorch the chorizo – the burn really accentuates the smoky flavour and encourages it to give up it’s powerful juices.

And a piece of advice when using chicken breast on the BBQ: it’s extremely likely all the juice will disappear from the breast meat before it’s cooked all the way through due to the not-so-controllable heat of the grill. Always brine poultry before barbecuing to ensure tender, juicy meat, powerful flavours and consistent cooking.

Chicken and chorizo kebabs with red pepper and red onion salad:

For the kebabs:

2 chicken breasts, sliced into strips

10cm chorizo, coarsely diced

For the salad:

1 red onion, sliced

1 red pepper

5 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon chopped mint

  1. Make a 8% brine solution for the chicken. Add whatever aromatics you like to this, I used black peppercorns, a tablespoon of honey and a star anise. Leave the chicken to soak in this for at least a couple of hours and preferably more than 6.
  2. Just before you make the kebabs, get the salad started. Mix the red wine vinegar with paprika and a pinch each of sugar and salt. Leave the onion in this to tenderize and mellow.
  3. Leave the red pepper directly on the flames of the barbecue until charred all over. Seal in a freezer bag for ten minutes to steam and soften.
  4. Skewer the chorizo and chicken on to sticks and barbecue over a medium-high-heat, turning occasionally.
  5. Remove the pepper from the bag and scrape down with a spoon to remove the skin. Dice and add to the red onion and add a splash of extra virgin olive oil, and adjust the seasoning.
  6. When the chicken is cooked all the way through, serve with the salad and drizzle over the rest of the dressing left in the bowl.
Categories
almonds chorizo food pork potatoes tomato

albondigas with patatas bravas

Tapas excites me. There, I said it. What other eating style allows you to order half a dozen dishes each and survey them like a greedy child? A dizzying array of little terracotta pots sit before you, deep with spice, wine and aroma.

I had a craving for this the other day so boshed together a couple of tapas style dishes, a meaty, sweet meatball dish and some pokey, chewy patatas bravas.

Albondigas in almond sauce:

500g pork mince

½ nutmeg, grated

Parsley, roughly chopped

½ teaspoon paprika

Lemon zest, grated

Flour

1 onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

Chicken stock

2 tablespoons ground almonds

  1. Combine the mince, nutmeg, paprika, lemon and half the parsley in a bowl. Wet your hands and form into small meatballs, about the size of a ping-pong ball. If you have time leave in the fridge for half an hour to firm up.
  2. Roll the meatballs in a dusting of flour, and fry in butter until lightly browned all over and put to one side.
  3. In the same pan fry the onion and garlic. When softened add the chicken stock and simmer briskly to reduce and thicken. Add the almonds and stir well.
  4. Reduce the heat, add the meatballs back to the pan and continue to cook for a further ten minutes. Serve with parsley.

Patatas bravas:

1 large potato, diced

1 chorizo sausage, diced

1 tin tomatoes

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. In a large baking tray add the chorizo and potato and cook for twenty minutes. At this point the chorizo will start to leak it’s peppery juice, so toss everything together well to coat.
  2. Add the tomatoes and continue to cook for another twenty minutes until the potatoes are tender. Check for seasoning and garnish with parsley.
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