Pork, chorizo and mushroom pasta, with peas

I'm trying not to run out of inspiration in these very dark days - though I admit we have had more than a few comfort dinners eg. sausage, mash and beans, in the past weeks.  Today there were pork chops in the fridge - and I was heading towards another tray bake (nothing wrong with that) ... but then, I remembered there was a chorizo sausage to use up and some proper decent pasta ... so, a little bit more effort in chopping the meat later - I enjoyed this much more than I would have done big lumps of pork.

Onion

Garlic

Olive oil

Pork chops

Chorizo

Mushrooms

Flour

(Soya) milk

pasta

peas

black pepper

1.  Gently sautee chopped onion and garlic in olive oil.

2.  Chop pork into small pieces, and add to the onion mixture.

3.  Chop chorizo into small pieces and add to the pan.  Keep stirring and cook out for a while.

4.  Chop mushrooms and add to the pork mix.

5.  Cooks the pasta.

6.  Add a couple of spoonsful of flour to the pork mixture, stir in, then add a cup of soya milk.  Stir it in to make a sauce.  Simmer.

7.  Add a handful of frozen peas to the sauce, then add pasta.

8.  Toss together, serve, scoff ... it was delish!

Tapas tea

We fancied a bit of a change, and a bit of a cheer up - with the weather being continuously grim.  So, for the veg dodger pork and chorizo, for the pescatarian garlic prawns … and for the using up of the veg box - potatoes, onion and pepper, creamy cabbage, avocado and radish salad and some manchego … delish.

Olive oil
Onion
Garlic
Yellow (or whichever) pepper
Potatoes
Sherry
Cider vinegar
Pork loin chops
Chorizo
Cabbage
Lemon
Egg
Soya cream (or sour cream)
Little gem lettuce
Radishes
Avocado
Cherry tomatoes
Prawns
chilli flakes

1.  Chop one white and one red onion.  Sautee the white onion in olive oil, add a little crushed garlic.  Then add chopped pepper, sliced potatoes, a splash of sherry, a splash of cider vinegar and some water.  Simmer gently, turning occasionally.
2.  Sautee half the red onion in olive oil, add chopped pork loin chops and chopped chorizo.  Brown a little, then leave to stew gently.
3.  Sautee the other half of red onion, with a little garlic, add shredded cabbage and a little water.   Season and cook until soft, squeeze on juice of half a lemon.  Whisk an egg into cream, add to the cabbage mixture and stir in.
4.  Chop salad vegetables, spritz with lemon juice to stop the avocado discolouring.
5.  Fry crushed garlic, prawns and a little chilli in olive oil.
6.  Serve, scoff ...

Spanish feast ... innit

We had a house full ... which is fabulous ... but it's also a very, very sad time here.

No details, this is not the place...

But we needed a cheering dinner to suit - veggie, veg dodger, lactose intolerant and gf .... so I came up with this... chorizo and pork casserole, butter bean casserole and potato wedges... we ALL loved it

Olive oil
potatoes

onions
garlic
red pepper
mushrooms
pork loin steaks/diced pork
chorizo
butter beans
dry sherry (optional)
tin of chopped tomatoes
cabbage

1.  Start off with the potatoes - cut them into wedges and toss them in olive oil - then roast - at about 180, for about 45 minutes.
2.  Start the two stews ... sautee chopped onion and garlic until soft.
3.  Split the cooked onion and garlic into 2 pans and add the other ingredients to each ... 1 veggie - 1 meaty.
4.  So for the veggie - red pepper and mushrooms.
5.  for the meaty - chopped  chorizo and pork ... cook them both, stirring so they dont stick for about 5 minutes.
6.  Then add ... to the veggies a tin of drained butter beans, to the meaty a splash of dry sherry.  Simmer.
7.   Split a tin of chopped tomatoes between the two pans, add some stock and simmer away.
8.  Chop the cabbage into slices (not shredded, but not chunks)  .. chuck it into the veg stew.
9.  Serve, scoff ... yum

Pork and chorizo casserole, chickpea casserole and baby potatoes

Living with a vegetarian and a veg dodger leads me, fairly frequently, to making several different dishes so that people can mix and match.  Today I just decided on a bit of a spanish vibe - so for the vegetarian a chickpea and red pepper casserole - which is infact totally vegan.  As I'm pretty much an omnivore I get the best of both worlds and had a bit of each.  Once again - all ingredients available from Todmorden Market Hall.  Pork steaks from any of the 3 excellent butchers, chorizo, beans and spices etc from The Mediterranean Pantry.  Veg from Traynor.

Onion
Garlic
Olive oil
Pork steaks
Chorizo
Red pepper
Carrot
Mushrooms
Chickpeas
Paprika
Tinned tomatoes
Baby potatoes

1.  Sweat down chopped onion and crushed garlic in two separate pans.
2.  When soft add pork steaks, diced, into one of the pans.
3.  Add diced carrot, red pepper and mushrooms and a pinch of paprika to the other pan.
4.  Put the potatoes on to boil.
5.  When the pork has browned a little add chunks of chorizo and turn the heat down a little.
6.  To the veg version add a tin of drained, rinsed chickpeas.
7.  Add a tin of chopped tomatoes, a perhaps a little stock, to each of the casseroles and simmer until done - about 15 minutes.
8. Drain potatoes, serve, scoff.

I hid some leftovers for my lunch - the veg dodger finished the entire chorizo version for supper.

Baked potato with romanesco and mushroom cheese

It looks like a mountain of mush, but it was really tasty.

Meat eaters had a bit of chorizo, veggies didn't ...

All ingredients (except soya milk) available from Todmorden Market.  Cheddar from The Crumbly Cheese, olive oil, mustard, gf flour and chorizo from The Mediterranean Pantry.  Veg from Garry outside.

Potatoes
Olive oil
Onion
Mushrooms
Romanesco (or cauliflower)
Wholegrain mustard
Flour (GF for us)
Soya milk
Cheddar ... lots
Chorizo

1.  Prick the potatoes with a fork, rub over with olive oil and bake.
2.  Sautee onion in olive oil, when soft add mushrooms.
3.  Steam the romanesco.
4.  Make the cheese sauce by adding a spoonful of flour to the mushroom mixture, mix until it has disappeared into the veg, then add a a spoonful of mustard and the milk (soya for us), mix until a sauce forms.
5.  Add grated cheese to the sauce, stir in the romanesco and put in the oven until potatoes are ready.
6.  At the last minute fry chorizo for the meat eaters.

Fabada

Deliciously rich and smoky Spanish casserole, made with ingredients from Todmorden Market - mostly from The Mediterranean Pantry itself, but also veg from Garry outside.  Also, a vegetarian version was required ... so a similar stew with butter beans spiced with smoked paprika and a pinch of chilli.

Rice
Onion
Garlic
Olive oil
Pancetta
Chorizo
Morcilla
Red pepper
mushrooms
Butter beans
Tinned tomatoes

1.  Cook the rice.
2.  Sautee onion and garlic in olive oil.
3.  Cut pancetta and sausages into bite sized pieces, and add to the onion - fry off.
4.  Add chopped red pepper and mushrooms.
5.  Add tinned tomatoes, and a little water, simmer for a few minutes.
6.  Add butter beans, simmer again until cooked.
7.  Serve, scoff ... deep and delicious.

For the veggie version - add chopped veggie burgers at stage 3, also add smoked paprika and a pinch of chilli as these flavours are introduced by the lovely sausages in the non-veggie version.

I made enough for 6 - but it was all finished by 3 of us ....

Just another Todmorden tapas

This time it was a sort of american-spanish take ...

Spicy mini potato roasties
Chorizo
Cauliflower with pine nuts and raisins
Pepper filled with stockfish
Coleslaw
Corn on the cob
Grilled chilli and garlic prawns

Not bad for a Wednesday night!

Start with the potatoes, and work steadily for about an hour, and it will all get done.

Ingredients.....

From The Mediterranean Pantry:  Olive oil, cajun spices, chorizo, pine nuts, raisins, garlic, chilli flakes, stuffed peppers
From Garry:  Potatoes, onions, cauliflower, sweetcorn, lemon, carrots, cabbage
From Paul:  Prawns

also ... sherry

1.  Chop potatoes into bite sized pieces, put into a roasting tray with a dusting of cajun seasoning.  Roast in a medium-hot oven (about 180).
2.  Finely slice 2 onions - one for the cauliflower, and one for the coleslaw - actually it's about 1 and a quarter for the cauliflower, and 3/4 for the coleslaw.
3.  Gently sautee the onion for the cauliflower in olive oil, then add cauliflower florets, and a drop of water, put the lid on and "steam" the cauliflower until done.
4.  Finish making the coleslaw by adding julienned carrots and shredded cabbage.  Season, add the juice of half a lemon and a splash of olive oil.
5.  Prep the sweetcorn, and put into a pan of water, ready to boil at 20 minutes to serving.
6.  Take the peppers with fish out of tin, into an oven dish and put into the oven with the potatoes to heat through.
7.  Marinate the prawns in chilli falkes, crushed garlic, lemon juice and a splash of olive oil.
8.  Chop chorizo into bite sized pieces.
9.  Check on the potatoes, I think you should be about 5 minutes from all done.
10.  Splash some sherry into the cauliflower and add a small handful of pinenuts and raisins, cook the alcohol off.
11. Fry the chorizo and the prawns in 2 separate pans - turn the prawns after a couple of minutes, keep the chorizo moving until it's done.
12.  Serve, scoff - some people will mix in mayonnaise to make their coleslaw creamy.

Kinda tapas featuring pork and chorizo casserole

Recipes ... very simple ...

Onion
Chorizo
Pork
Cider

Mushrooms
Garlic
Olive oil
Brandy

Plum tomato
Smoked anchovies


Onion
Garlic
Red pepper
Patti pan squash
Sherry
Chickpeas
Paprika
Saffron

1.  Make 2 casseroles, 1 meaty, 1 veggie - by sauteeing onion and gralic in olive oil, in 2 pans.
2.  To the meat one add pork, chopped chorizo and cider.
3.  To the veggie one add paprika, saffron, red pepper, pattipan squash and sherry.  THen add chickpeas.
4.  Chop mushrooms, fry with garlic and brandy.
5.  Chop tomatoes, put anchovies on top.....

oh, yes start the baby potatoes first.

Chicken and chorizo, spicy wedges, griddled courgette, mixed veg and allotment salad

Summer seems to have abandoned us for now - and given the state of politics, who can blame it? The recent downpours have played havoc with the lettuces in the allotment, so it's salad with everything at the moment.  I'm not complaining about that, they're delicious.

Start with the potatoes, then the veg, then the chorizo and chicken and while that's doing wash and dress the salad.

Potatoes
Olive oil
Cajun seasoning

Onion
Garlic
Broad beans
Carrot
White wine

Courgette
Polenta
Mixed herbs

Chorizo
Chicken breast

Lettuce
Balsamic vinegar

1.  Cut potatoes into wedges, put in a baking dish with olive oil and cajun seasoning, mix until evey wedge is coated - roast for about an hour.
2.  Pod and skin the broad beans, be patiient, this is the faffiest bit.
3.  About 20 minutes to serving.  Finely chop onion, sautee gently with crushed garlic, add broad beans and chopped carrot.
4.  Slice courgettes, put polenta and mixed herbs in a bag - add the courgette slices and shake until all slices are coated.
5.  Add a glass of white wine to the beans and carrots, simmer gently - add water or stock if it gets dry.
6.  Griddle the courgette slices in olive oil, in batches, keep them warm in the oven when done.
7.  10 minutes to serving, chop chorizo and fry, chop chicken breast into bite sized pieces and add to the chorizo.  Keep it moving now and again in the pan until it's cooked.
8.  Dress washed and dried salad leaves - I used garlic oil and balsamic vinegar.
9.  Serve - scoff.

Actually, there was also a veggie, so I fried some haloumi for them too!  Delicious.  There were seconds, and thirds, and possibly even fourths - but no left overs!

All ingredients (except for the wine) available from Todmorden market.  The Mediterranean Pantry, 3 fantastic butchers inside and veg outside.

Chicken and chorizo paella

Tired and emotional today. Without any liquid assistance I stress, just life, stresses and pressures. So, when I got home at 7 ish -I wanted something which wouldn't take too long, BUT was comforting, nutritious and had enough flavour to beat .. Steam it and eat it... So, remembering I had chorizo, and a chicken breast... Da dah! Chicken and. Chorizo paella. I have had a substantial bowlful, and I fully expect to pack at least 3 portions into pots for lunches...

Olive oil
I onion, chopped
2 inches chorizo, skinned & chopped
Celery .. 1 inch of bunch chopped, or 2 stalks, chopped
Red pepper chopped
2cloves garlic, crushed
1 chicken breast, in bite sized pieces
Rice -I used arborio.. But, whatever suits you
Stock, chicken in my case
Green beans
Mushrooms
Tin chopped tomatoes
Black olives
More water
Seasoning & chili flakes, to suit


Chuck onion and chorizo into big frying pan/Arellano pan/ shallow sauce pan.. And sautéed, add celery, stir. When chorizo starts releasing oil, keep heat up and start adding other ingredients. Stir so nothing burns. When nice and hot, chuck in chicken bits, and stir so they start coking on the outside, a tiny bit of colour is what you are looking for. Then chuck in rice, and stir until every grain has a tiny covering of yummy coloured oil. Chuck in stock, and other veg. Chuck in a little bit more than you think, stir.. Make sure nothing s sticking and keep the heat up. After a few mins stir again, add tin of chopped tomatoes, good sprinkle of chili flakes, and sliced black olives (if you like them). Stir, simmer. Don't fuss with it... Let it simmer over a low ish heat.. OK, stir gently, using spatula or similar to ease bits off the bottom of the pan which are in danger of sticking, otherwise try to leave it alone. When rice is done.. About 20 mins.. Taste it... And it's still a bit saucy turn heat off, and let it suck up juices for 5 minutes. Scoff. Obviously fresh parsley and zest of lemon would be a wonderful livened at the end.. But, come on.. It's a school night!

Spanish chicken, with chorizo and peppers

Had a couple of mates here for tea, a bit bunged up with cold, so we thought something comforting, with a little bit of heat - but clean and not at all creamy might be best.  Some chicken breasts and some chorizo in the fridge and this spanish-ish stew was ready in 30 minutes.

Enough left for freezing for work too, so not a bad result.

Gathered victims declared delish and lush - so it can't be bad.

1-2 tbsps olive oil
1 onion chopped
About 10 cm piece of chorizo, skinned and diced
3 chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
pinch chili flakes
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 red peppers chopped
About 10 mushrooms, chopped
glass of white wine
tin of tomatoes
chicken stock
edame beans
Small cup of black olives, chopped.

1.  Soften onion in olive oil, add chorizo and fry so that it lets out spicy oil.
2.  Add chicken and fry for a couple of minutes.
3.  Add vegetables, garlic and chili flakes.  Turn around in the pan for a couple of minutes, until all the oil is coating the meat and veg.
4.  Pour in wine.  Allow to simmer for a couple of minutes, then a tin of tomatoes, and about a pint of stock.
5.  Simmer, chuck in edame beans (or frozen peas) cover and stick in oven (or on a lowish heat on the hob) for 20+ minutes.  If on the hob, check every now and then that it hasn't become too dry.
6.  10 minutes before serving stir in chopped olives.
6.  Serve with rice.