Tuesday, April 27, 2010

The Cookbook Challenge Week 22 - Red - Chorizo & Tomato Salad - 1 - $

It would be fair to say that the wheels have fallen off in my efforts for The Cookbook Challenge over recent weeks.
First there was a holiday; then a lot of socialising in the evenings, which meant not much cooking; then there was a lot of overtime due to The Volcano. Pfft what a bore (well the volcano part anyways).
And then there was the fact that I wasn't feeling particularly inspired by any of my books. That was until a divine friend of mine dropped off a copy of Jamie Oliver's newie Jamie Does Spain, Italy,Greece, Morocco, Sweden, France. With 6 countries included there had to be something. And there was! So to begin my Challenge Catch-Up I present Week 22 - Red:

Best Chorizo & Tomato Salad in the World - you don't get much redder than this.

Ingredients (serves 4 as a light meal)

225gm chorizo sausage, roughly sliced
olive oil
3 large, ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, quartered
3 spring onions or 1 shallot, finely sliced
sherry vinegar
small bunch flat leaf parsley, leaves picked and finely chopped (Jamie reckons basil or mint is OK to use too)
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
rustic bread to serve
salt and pepper to season

Fry the chorizo over medium heat with a little olive oil, stirring occasionally as you prepare the rest of the salad.
Put the tomatoes and spring onion in a large bowl. Season well with salt and pepper and then pour a splash of olive oil and sherry vinegar over them. Sprinkle the parsley on top, toss everything together and then put aside.
Once the chorizo is crispy and all the fat is sizzling away in the pan, add the garlic. Keep it moving around, as you don't want it to burn, and as soon as you can smell it, get the pan off the heat and splash in some sherry vinegar to stop it cooking.
Spoon the sausage and a little of the oil over the salad ingredients, toss well to combine and serve immediately.

This salad is quick, easy and delicious. The smell of the chorizo certainly got the attention of everyone in the house and by the time it was ready to serve I had an audience of one man, a dog and a cat.
I think during the winter I will continue to make this dish, however I think as a variation on cooler nights, some roasted, vine-ripened cherry tomatoes will be perfect - added at the same time as the sausage and served hot straight from the oven.
Jamie also suggests in this recipe to keep any leftover fat from the chorizo pan and rub it all over a chook for roasting - this is on the menu tonight at my place, so stay tuned for how it goes.

Enjoy!

7 comments:

Ed said...

What great colour in that sausage salad!

Would the freshness and quality of the tomatos make or break this? Or does chorizo kind of overwhelm them a bit so less important?

We have pets crowding in when they smell something they like too. Two cats and no dog unfortunately.

What's For Tea? said...

Hello Ed!

This salad is a winner. I don't often spout the words of celeb chefs, but I do agree with Jamie when he lists 'buy the best you can afford'.
As the tomatoes far outweigh the amount of chorizo in the salad, you definitely need to include some super flavoursome ones in order to not let down your tastebuds when they get a veg only mouthful.

Thanks for your comment :)

Libby said...

Oohh that looks amazing. I'll be giving this a go. Thanks for the recipe!

Agnes said...

Welcome back to the Cookbook Challenge train! It can be really difficult to keep up, too bad life gets in the way sometimes!

Perfect recipe for "red" week - it certainly doesn't get any redder than that!

What's For Tea? said...

You're welcome Libby! This recipe is too quick and easy not to give it a bash at least once...and then again and again ;)

It's nice to be back Agnes! Thanks for your encouragement. Only two recipes to go and I will be back on track - as long as I can nail them this week, volcanoes permitting :)

Unknown said...

Yes, welcome back! The photo of the chorizo cooking is making me hungry...I can almost smell it...yum! Leigh

What's For Tea? said...

It's nice to be back, thanks Leigh! I still have a couple to go to catch up but reckon I'll be back on track in the next week or so. Life has started to chill out again and it's time to cook :)

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