Tag: chorizo sausage

“Nancy likes them” chickpeas and chorizo

If its almost good enough for Nancy, it’s almost good enough to share! This dish was inspired by a Mark Bitten recipe in the New York Times. Adding sherry or lemon juice would be a nice addition. Certainly other greens could be substituted for the Romaine lettuce. (Bitten used spinach.) I’ve never been a big fan of bread crumbs, but Bitten used them.

This was a last minute (actually about 20 minutes) dish to take to a pot-luck dinner. I was in a hurry and didn’t have his recipe at hand, so I used ingredients I had on hand. Not a big fan of chickpeas, this turned out to be “almost good” according to Nancy…

Ingredients

  • 4 Tbs olive oil
  • 3 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 29 oz can of chickpeas
  • 1/2 sweet onion, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 pound chorizo sausage, diced
  • 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/3-1/2 cup cilantro, sliced (to taste)
  • 1/2 head of Romaine lettuce
  • salt and pepper to taste

Putting it all together

  1. Rinse, drain, and dry the chickpeas
  2. Add 2 Tbs olive oil to a large, heated skillet
  3. Add the chickpeas and cook on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally,  until they begin to lightly color. As they are ready, they will begin to pop slightly and achieve a slightly crunchy texture.
  4. While the chickpeas are cooking, roughly chop the lettuce and dice all the vegetables and chorizo into a medium dice.
  5. Remove the chickpeas to a bowl.
  6. Add 2 Tbs of olive oil, the onion, pepper, and chorizo to the skillet. Cook until the onion and pepper are soft and the sausage is lightly browned.
  7. Add the lettuce and chickpeas to the skillet and cook until the lettuce is slightly wilted.
  8. Taste for seasoning
  9. Remove from heat and stir in the cilantro
  10. Serve hot or at room temperature

Brown rice with chorizo, kale, and white beans

I used a short-grained brown rice for this and cooked it in a traditional risotto style. The result was very much like risotto. The stems from kale take longer to cook. In this case I chose not to use the stems, but if cooked a little longer, the stems could be used. Brown rice takes about 50 minutes to cook, so this is not a 30 minute meal. It was a great Saturday evening meal.

Serves 3

Ingredients

  • 1/2 red bell pepper,  diced medium
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1/2 yellow onion, diced medium
  • 4 scallions diced
  • 3 cups kale leaves
  • 4-5 oz button mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 cup short-grained brown rice
  • 1 14 oz can white beans, rinsed
  • 1/2 cup chorizo chopped
  • 1 quart chicken stock
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 4 tsp olive oil
  • 1 oz Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Procedure

  • Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in sauce pan over medium high heat
  • Add chorizo to the oil and cook for 2 minutes
  • Add kale and cook until the kale has wilted, about 2-3 minutes
  • Add garlic to oil and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
  • Add onion and cook until softened
  • Add remaining chopped vegetables to the pan and cook until softened.
  • Remove the vegetable mixture to a bowl  and add 2 tsp oil to the pan
  • Add rice to the pan and cook about one minute to coat the rice with oil.
  • Add about one cup of stock to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally until the stock is absorbed.
  • Continue adding stock about 1 cup at a time, stirring until it is absorbed.
  • With the final cup of stock, add the vegetables and chorizo to the rice along with the drained white beans.
  • Taste and adjust seasoning.
  • Garnish with freshly ground black pepper and Parmesan cheese

Shrimp, chicken and rice medley

Inspired by a paella recipe, this made a really nice weekend evening meal. If I had made it during the week, I might have used a quicker cooking rice. It is intended to be only mildly spicey. For those who like it hot, additional peppers or hot sauce could be added.

Ingredients

1 poblano pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp ancho chili powder (or more to taste)
2 chicken thighs
1/2 pound turkey chorizo sausage (or other spicy sausauge)
1 cup brown rice
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 pound shrimp (shelled and de-veined)
1 lime (zest and juice)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper (or to taste)

Suggested garnishes:

Cilantro, chopped scallions, wedges of lemon or lime, garlic bread

Directions:

  1. Chop into a medium dice the peppers (red and pablano) and onion.
  2. Mince the four cloves of garlic on a cutting board. Add a pinch of salt for an abrasive. Using the flat side of a knife, make a paste of the garlic and salt. You could also use a garlic press to accomplish the same thing, but then you would have one more thing to wash.
  3. Add the olive oil to a pot and heat over a medium-high flame until the oil shimmers.
  4. Add the onions, peppers and garlic and cook 2-3 minutes until the vegetables soften (about 3-4 minutes).
  5. Add the ancho chili powder and black pepper to the pot and cook for 1 minute.
  6. In the pot, move the vegetables to the side of the pan so there is space for the chicken. Place the chicken thighs skin side down. Cook covered for 3-5 minutes until the skin begins to brown.
  7. Remove the casing from the chorizo sausage and cut into bite-sized chunks. Add to the pot.
  8. Add the rice and chicken stock to the pot and bring to a boil.
  9. Add the rice and allow to cook for 40-45 minutes, maintaining a slow simmer. (You could substitute a white rice that would cook more rapidly if you choose).
  10. Remove the chicken from the pot and allow to cool slightly.
  11. Use a grater or microplane to remove the zest of the lime. Add the zest and the juice of the lime to the rice mixture.
  12. The desired consistency is loose, almost soupy. Add more stock or water to reach the desired consistency.
  13. Stir the shrimp into the rice mixture and cover for five minutes.
  14. While the shrimp is cooking, remove the skin from the chiken thighs. Remove the meat from the bones of the chicken thighs and add to the rice mixture.
  15. Check seasoning. Add more salt or pepper if desired.
  16. Add the chopped cilantro.
  17. Serve in bowls with desired garnish.