Chicken, Chorizo and Chickpea Stew

Seasonal Recipe of the Pandemic
Shopping is not what it used to be. The mandatory mask makes my glasses fog up and I now know I have bad breath, or maybe I need to wash my camouflage mask. So why not make something new that doesn't require too many difficult-to-find ingredients (like flour)? This can be made spicy if you like by your choice of Chorizo, which seems in good supply at our local Lidl market. A bit of chopping, open a couple of cans, and let the simmer do its thing. This recipe serves 2 but doubles easily. Don't know about you, but I can't stop eating!

Ingredients
6 ounces Spanish chorizo
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into cubes
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 bell pepper, any color, diced large
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 15-ounce can chickpeas
1 glass white wine or dry sherry
1/2 bunch parsley or cilantro (or both!), chopped
1/4 cup chopped olives

Procedure
Cut the chorizo into slices and cook gently in a medium-size pan until it renders its oil, in which you now cook the chicken cubes till they get nicely brown. Then add the onion and pepper and cook until soft. Add the garlic and paprika and stir for a minute or two, followed by the tomatoes, tomato paste, chickpeas, and wine or sherry. Simmer for 20-30 minutes then season well with salt and pepper and garnish with the parsley and/or cilantro. Serve over whatever grain you prefer/can find — we had ours over saffron rice!

Chicken and Brown Rice with Chorizo

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Here is a great hearty recipe for Chicken and Brown Rice with Chorizo. It’s all made in one pot and baked in the oven. Pretty much any dish with Spanish chorizo interests me. In Santa Fe, you can buy Chorizo at Ziggy's and at The Spanish table. The recipe uses chicken thighs, which are cheap and really much tastier then the all-too-common boneless chicken breast. This one-pot dish is similar to arroz con pollo, the classic Spanish and Latin American specialty, but the brown rice is a big plus.

Ingredients
2 1/2 lbs. bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 lb. smoked, dried Spanish chorizo, cut into 1"-thick slices
2 tbsp. roughly chopped fresh oregano
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 cups Basmati brown rice, rinsed
1/2 cup white wine
3 roasted red peppers, peeled, seeded, and cut into thick strips
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup frozen peas (optional)

Procedure
Heat oven to 400°. Season the chicken lightly with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a 4-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the chicken, skin side down, and cook, without turning, until the skin is a deep golden brown, about 8 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. Pour off and discard any accumulated fat and juices. Add the chorizo and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer chorizo to a plate, leaving the fat behind in the Dutch oven.

Add oregano, red pepper, garlic, onion, and bay leaf to the Dutch oven and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is lightly browned and somewhat soft, about 8 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring frequently, until surface is glossy, about 2 minutes. Add wine, bring to a boil while stirring often, and reduce by half, about 1 minute. Nestle chicken, chorizo, and peppers into rice mixture. Pour in broth and season liquid to taste with salt and pepper. Cover the Dutch oven and bring to a boil over high heat. Transfer to the oven and bake until rice is tender and chicken is cooked through, about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Remove the dish from oven, uncover, and gently stir in the peas with a fork. Let sit for 10 minutes, covered, to allow the flavors to meld.

Stuffed Tomato with Chorizo and Rice

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
I loved stuffed things. Like stuffed cabbage and stuffed pasta shells and even stuffed tomatoes, especially if Chorizo is involved, and it is! This recipe is from The Esquire Party Book from the collection of Bram and Monica. I did however update it a bit!

Ingredients
8 ripe Roma tomatoes
1 large chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 finely chopped Pallacio chorizo sausage
(available at the Spanish table and sometimes at Ziggy's)
1/2 teaspoon fresh chopped tarragon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 1/2 cups cooked Basmati Rice (still a bit firm)
1/2 cup shredded Manchego cheese
1/2 cup Panko mixed with 1 tablespoon olive oil and salt and pepper
2 oven roasted green pepper, peeled and cut into julienne strips

Procedure
Cut the tomatoes the long way and scoop out seeds. Sauté the onions with the garlic and Chorizo in a sauté pan with a little olive oil, the Chorizo will supply oil as well as it heats up. Now add the rice, cheese, and other seasonings except the peppers and breadcrumbs, and taste to adjust flavors. Fill each tomato half with rice mixture, then top with a criss-cross of peppers and top with breadcrumbs. Place in a 400-degree oven for 15 minutes, or under the broiler and cook till browned but firm. This would be wonderful to serve with a piece of grilled fish.

Stacy's Spanish Style Fish Stew

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
I don’t care that I live in the desert — I love fish, and I just ignore the fact that I now buy IQF (individually quick frozen) fish, and I cook it all the time. So the other night, I had a dinner party for some of my friends who love food and I made this fish dish because these were all great parts and I figured it would work all together and it did. This stew easily serves 6.

Ingredients
2 links of real Spanish Chorizo (bought at The Spanish Table)
1 onion, cut into thin slices
1 pound of salmon cubed
1 pound of shrimp, peeled and cleaned
2 dozen mussels
2 dozen clams
5 cloves garlic crushed
1 jar Paul Newman’s Cabernet Sauvignon red sauce
1 1/2 cups red wine
4 cups bloody Mary mix (Trader Joe's) — just fancy tomato juice!
1 tablespoon Spanish smoked sweet paprika
2 shakes Tabasco
Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure
Slice the chorizo and sauté it in a big saucepan until it gives up its beautiful red oil. Then add the onions and crushed garlic and sauté till the onions are soft and transparent. Add Paprika. Now add the red sauce and the 1/2 cup wine and simmer. Taste and adjust flavors. You can make it as spicy as you like. In a medium-size roasting pan spread a layer of the sauce. Now top with salmon cut into cubes and raw shrimp. Cover with more sauce, saving some in the pan for the mussels, then cover with foil and bake in a 350 oven for 20 minutes. In the meantime, add the remaining 1 cup red wine to the sauce, bring to the boil and add the shellfish. Cover and simmer till the shellfish steams open. Now you are ready to plate up. I made a simple Jasmine rice with some green herbs and put that on the plate first then topped it with the seafood and lots of sauce. Don’t forget the bread for dippage.

Chicken with Chorizo and White Beans

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
I have purposely chosen a recipe which has nothing to do with the holidays for my recipe of the week. This comes form the domestic goddess herself Nigella Lawson and it’s for Chicken with Chorizo and white beans, and its delicious! It’s a recipe for one person. Treat yourself tonight!

Ingredients
2 cups chicken stock
1 organic chicken breast (yes, it makes a difference)
4 1/2 ounces-generous (1/2 cup) of Kale, trim off stems
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 ounces Spanish Chorizo, sliced then chopped
14 ounces white Cannelloni beans, drained
Smoked sweet paprika for sprinkling on top

Procedure
In a saucepan, bring the stock to a gentle boil, lower in the chicken breast and simmer for 10-14 minutes till chicken is white, not pink. Pierce with a knife point to see its cooked on the inside. Meanwhile cook the prepared (torn) kale leaves in boiling salted water for about 5 minutes and drain. Heat olive oil in a sauté pan and add the chorizo and the drained white beans. Sauté and add a few tablespoons chicken stock. Now pour the bean chorizo mixture into a serving bowl. Top with the kale, drizzle with a little extra olive oil, and top with chicken breast. Sprinkle some smoked paprika on top because not only does it look good it tastes good. Bon Appetit!

Portuguese Stone Soup

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Due to the extreme cold of the past week, my mind turned to a hot bowl of soup. A few years ago I made a soup book for my yearly Christmas present, so this recipe is from that book. It's a classic Portuguese soup called "Stone Soup". I'm not sure where that name came from, but there is no actual gravel in the ingredient list. This is a large recipe and serves 8 hungry people.

Ingredients
8 cups chicken stock
1 pound diced Spanish Chorizo (buy at The Spanish Table)
1 15 ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 medium baking potatoes peeled and diced
1 14 ounce can ready cut diced tomatoes
1/2 medium Savoy cabbage, coarsely chopped (about 4 cups)
2 leeks, chopped and well rinsed
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves minced garlic
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure
Like in most soups, the procedure is pretty basic. Combine all the ingredients in a large pot and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 2 hours adding more water as needed. At this altitude your liquid evaporates quickly, so keep an eye on your soup. No remote control cookery! The soup will thicken as it cooks. Stir occasionally. Taste and season with salt and pepper before serving. This is a meal in a bowl... a little wine and you are good to go!