Filed under: recipe | Tags: chorizo, Cooking, dinner party, food, fritters, recipe, Spanish
Why not try these tasty Chorizo Fritters with chickpeas, perfect for a snack or for a canapé for a dinner party.
A little fact about Chickpeas: they are packed with vitamins, proteins and minerals and contain soluble fibre which can lower your cholesterol levels, so if your health conscious these are perfect. Commonly used in Mediterranean cooking, it is time to try them in something other than houmous!
Ingredients
- 1/4 tsp Cumin seeds (or any other spice, which can add some taste)
- ½ a pack of unearthed cooking chorizo, finely diced
- 500ml milk
- 25g unsalted butter
- 1 red chilli, finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- 150g gram flour, sifted (made from Chickpeas)
- 1 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped
- sunflower oil, for deep-frying
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- black pepper
- salt
- sour cream dip (or whatever dip you fancy!!)
Method
1. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat. Add some cumin seeds - the most popular ancient spice from Latin America to Africa and all over Asia – and if you can’t use these then have a go with another spice from the cupboard! Toss and toast for 1 minute until scented. Then place in pan with milk, butter, chilli and garlic, and bring to the boil.
2. Reduce the heat and slowly add the gram flour (this is flour made from chickpeas)
3. Cook gently for 5-6 minutes until thickened.
4. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying-pan, add the unearthed cooking chorizo and fry until sizzling and lightly golden. Pop the chorizo into the gram flour mixture along with the parsley and mix until well combined. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Line a 1 litre ovenproof dish or roasting dish with non-stick baking paper and pour in the mixture (try to use a plastic spatula so that the mixture can be spread easily). Level the top, cover with clingfilm and chill in the freezer for around 20 minutes until set (ideally overnight)
6. While mixture is in the freezer, preheat wok one-third full with sunflower oil. Heat oil until sizzling (be careful here!). Turn the fritter mixture on to a work surface and peel away the paper. Cut into small squares, and then cut in half again, into triangles. Roll in some gram flour. Deep-fry the fritters in batches for 2-3 minutes until golden. Drain on kitchen paper and serve warm with the soured cream dip. Sweet chilli sauce is also fantastic with these fritters but feel free to experiment.
If you are looking for other appetisers, check out unearthed Mixed Olives and Feta or the new Hot Chilli Olives (WARNING: They are hot!!!).
Filed under: recipe | Tags: bake, chorizo, food, potato, Unearthed, wine barrels
OK, it is another easy cooking chorizo recipe. This stuff makes even the simplest dish exciting so no apologies for banging on about it.
Cooking Chorizo and Potato Bake
You need:
• One pack of unearthed Spanish mini cooking chorizo
• 400g new potatoes
• 200g young Manchego (or other semi-soft Spanish cheese)
• Four old wine barrels* – to sit on
*If you cannot find old wine barrels then chairs will do just fine.
Parboil the new potatoes with skins on and leave to cool.
Gently fry the cooking chorizo until cooked through. Remove chorizo from the pan but leave the juices.
Slice the potatoes (skin them first if you are fussy) and fry them in the same pan until golden.
Layer a baking dish with the pototoes and chorizo and top with a layer of the cheese. Bake in the oven for 10 mins.
Serve with crusty bread and a fresh green salad.
unearthed Spanish mini cooking chorizo is available in most Waitrose stores – look for it with the continental meats (like Parma Ham).
When one of the unearthed team was backpacking in Mexico, late breakfasts of Huevos a la Mexicana used to be his number one pick-me-up food. Well, this isn’t much like Huevos a la Mexicana, but it is still oh so good.
Chorizo Scrambled Eggs
You need:
• Half of 1 pack unearthed mini cooking chorizo sausages
• 6 large eggs (the huevos!)
• 250ml milk (full cream is best, semi is fine)
• 200g tomatoes
• A knob of butter (that’s a small bit)
• Fresh parsley to garnish (optional)
• Salt and Pepper
Stick the oven on and follow cooking instructions on the pack of chorizo (they take approx. 15mins).
When the chorizo is in the oven, chop your tomatoes into thumb sized pieces (if cherry tomatoes then leave whole).
Break the eggs and mix with the milk and a pinch of salt, using a fork to whisk the mixture.
Put a frying pan on a medium heat and when it is up to temperature, add the butter, coating the base of the pan as it melts.
Before the butter browns, add the egg mixture and leave to cook for 30secs or so. Then fold with a wooden spoon, taking care to lift the egg off the bottom of the pan, allowing the uncooked egg to run underneath.
After a few folds, add the tomato.
Repeat folding until the eggs are set but still soft.
Add the cooked chorizo, taking the eggs off the heat and letting them stand for a minute.
Give your Chorizo Scrambled Eggs a final stir and serve on a warm plate with a crusty piece of bread. Grinding some black pepper on top and – if you have got someone special round – garnish with a couple of sprigs of fresh parsley.
Who needs a holiday in Mexico after all!
Another perfect serving suggestion is with fried mushrooms and a toasted muffin, it looks so wrong but tastes so right!!!
A spicy Spanish pork sausage with paprika and garlic. GREAT for cooking, these semi-cured sausages were unearthed very close to Barcelona.
We have loads of recipe suggestions and ideas for this product on our recipe pages, including traditional Spanish dishes like paella or something more British with a twist, like chorizo toad in the hole!
Currently available from Waitrose and Ocado
Nutritional information:
Dry cured pork sausage seasoned with paprika and garlic. unearthed chorizo comes from the North of Spain, near Pamplona.
Put on some music, open a bottle of Rioja, pour a glass and wander out on to the sunny terrace with the view of the sea where a plate of this Chorizo and a wedge of Manchego cheese awaits. Now you’re feeling Spanish! Or just eat it out of the packet.
Recipe ideas and serving suggestions of how to use this product, visit our recipe pages and view tips from the echef.
Currently available from Waitrose and Ocado
Nutritional information:
