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Posts Tagged ‘chorizo’

Beef ribs with chorizo

Beef ribs with chorizo

They say, necessity is the mother of invention.

These last few weeks, I would say that moving is the mother of improvisation. As we countdown to moving homes, I find myself limited as to what I can cook because I’ve either packed something away or I’m trying to use up miscellaneous ingredients that have been hiding in my freezer or pantry.  I had some friends over for dinner a while back and I discovered some chorizos and beef ribs hibernating in my freezer and an almost empty tin of paprika and decided that I would make a Spanish inspired beef stew.

I mentioned in a previous post that I learned to brown tough cuts of meat in the oven rather than frying over the stove top – after trying it again for this recipe I have to say, this is definitely my preferred method – it’s less messier and healthier because some of the fat is rendered from the meat using this technique.

I love the beef and chorizo combination – this is dish is so hearty and so easy to put together.  Many stews taste better the next day as all the flavours develop overnight…I wish I could say the same for this dish – I suspect it would, but I wouldn’t know as we finished it in one sitting.

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Chorizo Croquetas

Chorizo Croquetas

The other day, as I do every morning, I took my two labradors for a walk. Nothing out of the ordinary except I had overslept and had less time to walk them and get ready for work. I knew I had to rush. So we went to a park that was 10 minutes away and I let them loose thinking I would let them spend a good ten minutes chasing each other and sniffing other dogs. This took longer than I expected because the little one, Bizou, decided to forage for breakfast which meant I had to spend an extra ten minutes chasing her and trying to get her to stop.

As we made our way home I saw a man stading infront of his truck. He must have been in his twenties, and I suspect he was in the construction business because he was wearing a fluorescent yellow safety jacket, worn boots and had a rugged look about him. As we walked towards him I saw him look at them and his face broke into a wide grin and then he looked at me and said “Can I pat them?”.

He kneeled down and my dogs made a dash for him. He started patting them and then Baci, flirt that she is, lay on her back as if to ask for a tummy rub, which made him smile and happily oblige.

“You have a labrador too?” I asked him.

“Had,” he replied. “She died early this year. She was fifteen.” Then I saw him close his eyes and give each dog a big hug.

I was in a hurry and had an early morning meeting that I didn’t want to be late for… but at that moment none of that was important.

“There’s a park across the road, I was going to take them there for a little run. Did you want to come along for a few minutes?” I asked.

What mattered was that I felt like I was giving him a few moments with his dog back.

There are times in our lives when we have the opportunity to help someone relive a certain moment, it’s wonderful when we can oblige. Whether it’s spending an extra few minutes with them… or even cooking a dish that brings back the memory.

Which is why I made these Chorizo Croquetas the other day.

But I’ll save that story for another time.

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Baked Spaghetti

Baked Spaghetti Royale

I swear, it wasn’t because I was unpopular.   (Or that’s what I would like to think)

One summer, I must have been in the  fifth or sixth grade, I celebrated my birthday with a party.  The downside of having your birthday in the summer months was that it always coincided with school holidays, which usually meant, only a handful of classmates could actually make it.

I never really thought it was a big thing until I was made painfully aware of this fact when, during this party, only three guests showed up.

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"Huevos Rotos" literally "Broken Eggs"

Tapas, Chorizo, Fried Egg, Jamon Serrano

I have to admit things were not going smoothly Saturday morning as my Mum and I prepared breakfast.  There was some debate with the Blog Monster as to how this dish was really made.

“Jamon.” I said.

“Chorizo!” She answered

“Jamon!!” I replied

“Chorizo! This is what we used to do in the restaurant” she countered.

You see we were trying to cook up a tapas dish called “Huevos Rotos” – which literally means “Broken Eggs.” Imagine a fried egg presented over a bed of pan fried potatoes, garlic, chorizo (or Jamon Serrano depending on who was making the dish).  The egg is then broken and scattered all over the rest of the dish.  It’s wonderful with a piece of warm bread.  And, while we were having it for breakfast,  you can have it any time of the day.

I first tried a variation of this dish in a Madrid Restaurant called Casa Lucio.  They call it “Huevos Estrellados” and they are acclaimed worldwide for it.  When I first saw it served to me, I said to myself  “they’re just french fries with a fried egg on top”… but I have to admit – it was out of this world.  If you want to be extra indulgent, pay a little more and you get a some Jamon on the side.

You can imagine, two stubborn cooks in one little kitchen disagreeing about how to make a simple tapas dish.  Each of us was insisting that our own version was correct.

Huevos Rotos

In the end, we decided to put both… and it was amazing!

Recipe – Serves 2

  • 2 eggs
  • 1 chorizo, diced
  • 1 large potato, cut into 1 1/2 cm dice
  • 3 slices, Jamon Serrano, torn up
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  1. Heat the olive oil in a pan and and the potatoes, cook on medium high until browned, around 10 minutes or until you can pierce the potato with a fork without resistance.
  2. Remove the potatoes from the pan and now add the chorizo pieces and fry until nicely browned.
  3. Remove the chorizo and add the garlic and lightly fry until there is some colour on the garlic chips.
  4. Remove the garlic and use the same pan to fry and egg.
  5. To assemble, lay the potatoes, chorizo and garlic on a plate, top with the fried egg and lay some torn pieces of Jamon Serrano on the side.   Serve with toasted bread.

Fried Potatoes, Chorizo, Garlic Chips, Jamon Serrano and a Fried Egg

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