Creamy white beans and Chorizo

It's cold and rainy today, a good day for a hearty hot dinner.  Beans are a staple in the pantry and I like white beans that can be cooked long to the point of being creamy. Spanish chorizo is also one of my favorites, its color and flavor unmatched. Let's combine the two, creamy base note beans, and sharp sausage for a satisfying dinner.

I cook the beans almost like risotto, slowly adding stock as needed to keep the beans loose but not soupy.

The vegetable mixture is completely flexible, use what you want. here is what I did,

Ingredients:
Soaked white beans (I'm using great northern beans)
4 cups Chicken stock
1 tsb olive oil plus extra for drizzling
1/2 tsp salt
1 carrot finely diced
2 clove garlic minced
1/4 cup onion minced
1/2 tsp dried herbs I used (herbs de provence)
3 oz spanish chorizo diced
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Add olive oil to sauce pot over medum high heat

Add diced carrots and salt, stir and cook about 3 minutes, reduce heat to medium,

Add onions, stir and cook another 5 minutes,

Add garlic, stir and cook 1 minute.

Add the soaked and drained beans and stir.

Add enough stock to just cover, bring to boil then reduce heat to medium low,

Put a lid on it, but leave it cracked, simmer for about 30 minutes stirring occasionally.

Add the dried herbs.

Add stock as needed to just keep the beans covered. When beans are tender - mash about a third of them and stir back into the rest of the beans.

Meanwhile....

Add diced chorizo to a small sauce pan over medium high heat until a slight crust starts to form. Drain excess fat.

Spoon beans into bowl, top with about 1/2 the sausage, drizzle with olive oil.

Creamy beans, crunchy salty spicy sausage. Life is good.

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!


The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Fried chickpeas with chorizo and spinach

Straight from the New York Times' (Wed Feb 24 2010) Mark Bittman (I am a fan), this simple dish was perfect on a cold night. The chorizo is the cured  & dried Spanish kind, not the loose fresh Mexican kind. Frying the chick peas gives them has a nice crunch they normally don't have.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil, plus a little extra for drizzling
2 cups cooked chickpeas, as dry as possible (use paper towels or a dish towel to blot them dry)
Salt and pepper to taste
4 oz dried chorizo diced
1/2 lb spinach
1/4 cup Sherry (I skipped this)
1 to 2 cups bread crumbs

Heat the broiler

Add 3 tbs olive oil to skillet big enough to hold beans in a single layer over medium high heat. When oil is hot, add chickpeas, salt and pepper.

Reduce heat to medium  and cook, shaking pan to brown chickpeas, - about 10 minutes. The beans will get a nice color.

Add chorizo and cook another 5-8 minutes,

until the chorizo gives up some color and starts to crisp.

Remove chickpeas and chorizo to a bowl

Add remaining oil to the pan, when hot add the spinach, season with salt and pepper,

Cook over medium low heat until spinach is very soft and almost all liquid has evaporated. This will cook very quickly.

Add chickpeas and chorizo back to pan, toss to combine.

Add bread crumbs and drizzle with olive oil.

Put pan under broiler to lightly brown the top.

 Serve hot or room temperature.

This the the second time I've made this. It is surprisingly filling and delicious!

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt

http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Potatas a la Riojana

If  I am only going to eat one meal today it might as well be a good one! I spent the day outside cleaning up the yard, helping out at a friends house and starting the smoke shack build. I'm tired and hungry and happen to have some Spanish chorizo on hand.

Spanish chorizo differs from Mexican in that is is not wet and requires no cooking. The chorizo and the sweet paprika (dulce) color this dish a beautiful red. You could make this with regular paprika but it would not be the same or nearly as good. Serve with crusty bread. Add a salad and a Spanish Riojo – a great meal for a cold winter night.

Ingredients:
3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic chopped roughly
1 small onion or ½ a big one finely sliced – about a cup
7 oz chorizo sliced into rounds
½ pound good baking potato ( Idaho or russet) peeled and cubed
1 tsp pimenton dulce ( sweet paprika)
8-16 oz cold water

Directions:
In a large sauté pan warm oil over medium heat, add garlic

Cook for about a minute until garlic begins to brown

Add onions and cook gently about 20 minutes until light brown

Add chorizo and cook until browned – 2-5 minutes. It will release fat and color into the pan

Add potatoes to pan, toss to coat with oil and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally

Add pimento, stir

Add enough water to almost cover the potatoes and chorizo.

Cover and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. If you want to thicken it you can use little cornstarch and water slurry.

Serves 4 . Maybe....

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener