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

Freezer Soup

We're busy on this beautiful day and needed a quick lunch. When in doubt I often turn to freezer soup.

This is not a glamorous soup, but it is a great way to practice a little frugality while serving something satisfying.

I believe it is closer to the origin of soup than lobster bisque (no matter how delicious that is!) will ever be. It starts with discipline, just freeze and save the edible scraps from your leftovers. Vegetables, pasta, rice are all perfect. Also small amounts of meat, cooked sausage or ground beef can go into the bucket. I store mine in a quart plastic container in the freezer. When it is full, I make soup. You may add any small amounts of vegetables or green that might be in the fridge, or really whatever you want!

Ingredients

1 qt chicken, beef or vegetable stock

1 small onion diced
1 clove garlic minced
1 tbs oil
Frozen “Bucket of leftovers”
Anything else you might have on hand, today I had a half a bag of baby spinach.
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Add oil to a soup pot over medium heat
Add onions and cook until softened, stirring often – about 10 minutes
Add garlic and cook stirring often 3 minutes
Increase heat to medium high
Add Stock and Leftovers
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes

Taste test and season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

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

Steak on the Barbie + Mysterious Shadows

I had not had a steak in a long time. Last night just seemed like the right night. A little nip in the air, a glass of red wine. Let's fire up the grill.

I had this steak waiting for such a day, I'd taken it out of the freezer a day or so ago, and out of the fridge an hour before prepping. It is huge and will serve 2.

A little salt and pepper, and get the cast iron pan on fire. Start the grill as well.

It fills the pan!

Two minutes a side.

Add a pat of butter, and into the grill, pan and all until internal temp of 125.

While the steak was finishing in the covered grill, I was surprised to see the evidence of a thought to be extinct creature, the Backyardasaurus.  It appears mates were moving through the neighborhood. While they look like herbivores, perhaps they were drawn by the smell of the cooking steak?

With the steak off the grill and resting, a quick sauté of spinach and Korean greens, with a little olive oil and garlic.

Time to carve and serve! It looks charred but it is just a nice crust

Delicious!


I am getting found of the pan to grill technique. It works well for me.

Eat Well and 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