Chorizo Dinner Dish

This is one of those dishes I can always rely on to get me out of a pickle within 15 minutes, when confronted at 6 pm with a “What’s for dinner?” enquiry, and well, I have not even mildly developed an inclination in that direction! What enables me to do this is that I am a natural hoarder. So my larder always has a few back ups for just such a perplexing question! Tins of lentils, chickpeas, red kidney beans, butter beans, tin tomatoes etc. Add an onion, a potato and a sausage and dinner is done.  Now the worst part of this for me is to open the tins. If I were shipwrecked, with the entire supply of tinned food, in the world as well as a ton of tin openers…. I will starve!!!!! Guaranteed!!!  Rather give me a bow and arrow and I will survive. I have the ability to annihilate any tin in an attempt to get to its contents, injure myself and any unsuspecting bystanders and still come up short with a tin that looks like it has been used for target practice. So its 15 minutes provided someone is handy to open the tins.

Spanish Chorizo Dinner Dish

Chorizo Sausage is spicy and has enough fat content so you hardly need any other oil. The packaging describes it as follows “Whole dry cured pork sausage with a coarse texture, a smoky flavour and a distinctly spicy bite” Well, you see why I am in love…

Chorizo Sausage sliced

Large Onion sliced

Red Pepper (note these can also be bought in jars already preserved)

Baby Potatoes quartered (depending on their size about two per person)

Tin Tomatoes

Tin Chickpeas

Fresh Coriander

Boil the baby potatoes in some salted water while you get on with the rest. Slice them in halve to speed up the process.

Cut the sausage into discs and place in a heated pan and fry until crispy but not dry for a few minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Slice your onions into rounds and fry in the oil from the sausage. If you really need to, add a little more olive oil. Sprinkle with some sugar. Sauté until smoky.

Toss in the red peppers which you have deseeded and cut into slivers.

When the  potatoes are soft, toss them in for a bit of a sauté as well.

Add a tin of chopped tomatoes, some tomato paste if you feel the need as well as a tin of drained chick peas and your sausage.

At this point I yank open the spice rack and find the turmeric as an afterthought. Sprinkle in some and taste.

The sausage is spicy so test before you add salt and pepper or sweeten it with a bit of brown sugar if that is your preference.

Occasionally if it’s cold, I also add some extra paprika to supplement the paprika already in the sausage. It only needs a few minutes to bubble on the stove to heat it through.

Chop some fresh coriander and sprinkle over to serve.

I also like to serve it with sliced avocado as I did here in stead of coriander.

I manage to feed four people with this by adding some chunky bread for mopping up operations.

Now, you could probably use any spicy sausage you wish.

Food for thought on Chorizo: This signature cured sausage is made throughout Spain in a multitude of regional traditions and nuances. The meat is coarsely chopped and seasoned with spices ranging from garlic to chilli to paprika (pimento). The sausages are then cured, smoked and dried. The flavours range from fiery hot to almost sweet, but the texture is almost always chunky and meaty. This chorizo has a spicy bite and smoky flavour and aroma. This all according to the label on the back of Woolies imported chorizo and I couldn’t put it better myself except to say try it!!!! I implore you.

PS: If your Woolworths does not stock it. Let me know and I will see if I can help you get it in your corner of the country! Obviously a good deli will also stock it. But my personal preference is the one from Woollies.

Bon Appétit

Tastebud