Chorizo and Butternut Squash Tacos

These are heavenly! Spicy chorizo, sweet butternut squash and salty cotija cheese! I added some avocado and black olives, which I’m not sure they needed. Did I mention this is a one pot meal! Taco Tuesday and quick cleanup, you are welcome! You can add cilantro, Mexican crema, salsa, whatever you need to make it your own.

• 1 lb chorizo sausage, case removed
• 1/2 c thinly sliced onion
• 1 lb butternut squash, medium dice
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• Salt and pepper
• 8 corn tortillas
• 1/4 c cotija, crumbled

Heat a 12 skillet over medium heat. Add the chorizo and cook until starting to brown, add onion, squash, and spices, cook covered over medium low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently.

Heat your tortillas in a pan or wrapped in a damp towel in the microwave for a minute.

When squash is soft and brown in places, removed pan from heat.

Scoop chorizo mixture into tortillas and top with cheese.

Serves 4.

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Spanish Rice with Chorizo, Beans & Squash

This is from Diana Henry’s Simple. I swapped out vegan chorizo and veggie stock to make it vegan. This is a hearty stick to your ribs dish and makes a LOT! I ended up freezing 2 quart bags for future emergency meals.

• 1 tbsp saffron, soaked in 3 tbsp of boiling water
• Olive oil
• 1 large onion, sliced thin
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 14 oz pumpkin or butternut squash, cubed into 1 inch pieces
• 28 oz diced tomatoes
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 14 oz white beans, rinsed
• 1 quart stock
• 1 1/2 c Spanish paella rice
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 c parsley, minced
• Lemon wedges

Heat oil in a deep skillet, at least 12 inches, over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp oil and brown sausage, remove once browned. Add a little more oil and sauté the onions and garlic until soft. Add the squash, paprika, chili flakes and tomatoes and cook for 20 minutes, covered.

Stir in the beans, stock and saffron water. Return sausage to the pan then pour the rice around the sausage and season well. Cook uncovered for 35 – 45 minutes until rice is tender stock is absorbed. Serve with parsley and lemon wedges.

Serves 6 – 8.

Tomato Braised White Beans

This is adapted from Dinner by Melissa Clark – I moved it to the slow cooker and cut back on the chorizo a bit. You can leave out the chorizo for a wonderful vegan meal.

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4 oz cured chorizo, chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 c carrots, diced
• 2 c celery, diced
• 2 c onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 c white beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 8 oz baby spinach

In a multicooker on medium sauté, heat the oil and add the tomato paste, cumin and paprika, stir to combine and cook 1 minute. Stir in carrots, celery, onions and garlic, stir and cook 5 minutes until soft. Add beans, tomatoes, salt, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf and chorizo, stir to combine. Cook on low in slow cooker mode for 4 hours.

Season with salt and pepper. If it’s a little thin, cook on reduce for 10 minutes. Stir in the baby spinach.

Serve with a drizzle of olive oil.

Serves 6.

Chorizo and Avocado Salad

This salad is good I had to put an egg on it.

Dressing
1/4 c olive oil
2 tbsp sherry vinegar
1 tsp sherry
1 tsp honey

Salad
2 slices sourdough bread, torn into small pieces
1 avocado, dived
4 oz spinach and arugula
1 jar roasted red peppers, torn into bite size pieces
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
5 oz Spanish style chorizo, sliced thin
2 eggs
Shaved Spanish cheese

Toss arugula, spinach and pepper with a little dressing to coat.

Heat oil in a skillet and cook bread until toasted. Remove. Add chorizo and fry on both sides, remove. Add egg and cook until white is set but yolk is runny.

Divide spinach, arugula mixture among plates. Top with avocado, bread, cheese, chorizo and egg.

Serves 2.

Chorizo and Potato Tacos

This Tacos are the ultimate comfor food – stuffed into a crispy shell – ok mine got a little too crispy, but they were delicious. Just bake tortillas at 350 in an inverted cupcake pan sprayed with olive oil. 

1/2 lb Yukon Gold potatoes
Salt
1 lb Mexican chorizo, casings removed
1 c finely chopped white onions
1 finely chopped jalapeño chile
2 tsp olive
Your fav taco fixinga
Tortillas

Put the potatoes in a pot of salted watee and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Cook 10 to 15, until just tender. Drain and cut the potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes.

Cook, stirring and breaking up the chorizo slightly, until it’s completely cooked and lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Add the onions and chile, along with a teaspoon or two of oil if your chorizo hasn’t rendered much fat, and cook, stirring and scraping, until the onions are translucent and soft, about 8 minutes.

Add the potatoes and 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and cook until the potatoes are hot all the way through and have absorbed some chorizo flavor, about 10 minutes.

Serve alongside 12 warm corn tortillas and top with your fav taco fixings.

Serves 8.

Mushroom Soup

This is a wonderful mushroom soup, topped with a little chopped Spanish Chorizio makes it perfect.

Ingredients:
2 TBSP butter
3 small leeks, sliced thin and rinsed
20 oz white mushrooms, sliced
1 quart mushroom or vegetable stock
1 quart chicken stock
Salt and pepper
16 thin slices chorizo sausage, cut into matchsticks

In a large pot melt butter, add leeks and sweat covered over low heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and stock, cover and cook for 30 minutes.

Transfer to a blender process until smooth. Pour into bowls and season with salt and pepper, garnish with chorizo.

Serves 4 – 6.

Manchego, Chorizo and Olive Bread

This recipe comes from Patricia Wells’ latest cookbook and it is a winner! Cheese, spicy chorizo and olives – I don’t want to know how many calories are in slice,so I’m just going do my best not to gobble the entire loaf.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
1/3 c olive oil
1/3 c yogurt (I used greek non-fat)
5 oz manchego cheese, 1/4 inch cubes
2 oz dried Chorizio, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 tsp hot paprika
30 pimento stuffed olives

Preheat oven to 400.

Combine dry, combine wet – mix together then stir in olives, chorizo, cheese and paprika. Pour into a sprayed loaf pan.

Bake 25 – 30 minutes. Cool on a rack. Unmold and slice.

Potatoes with Chorizio

This recipe was inspired by Leitesculinaria.com, one of my favorite cooking blogs! It is the ultimate comfort food. I picked up some sopas at the local supermercado, tortilla would work too.

Ingredients:
4 potatoes, diced to 1/5 inch cubes
10 oz Mexican chorizo
1 c shredded cheese blend
1/2 c Cotija cheese, crumbled
4 – 6 sopas or tortillas

Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C).

Fill a large pot with water and salt and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook over medium-high heat until almost but not quite tender, 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes in a colander but do not rinse.

Crumble the chorizo into a large non-stick skillet over medium for 8 minutes. Add the drained potatoes to the skillet and allow the potatoes and chorizo to finish cooking, getting a little crispy.

Meanwhile, spray sopas with a little canola oil and heat in the oven 6 – 8 minutes.

To serve, place shredded cheese in the bottom of each sopa, top with potoato mixture and Cotija cheese.

Serve 4.

Pasta with Chorizo, Spinach and Burrata

It’s the end of the week, which means the fridge is starting to get a bit bare, so tonight I cobbled together this pasta with food that was about to reach the end if it’s shelf life – and I must say it was quite tasty!

Ingredients:
1/2 lb pasta
1TBSP olive oil
2 chorizio sausages, sliced thin
14 oz spinach
3 oz sundried tomatoes, chopped
4 oz burrata or mozzarella, diced
Red pepper flakes
Parmesan, grated

Cook pasta according to package.

In a 12 inch heat oil and cook sausage. Add 1/2 c pasta water and sun dried tomatoes for 5 minutes. Add pasta and spinach, cook for 2 – 4 minutes until spinach is wilted. Stir in cheese and remove from heat.

Top with pepper and Parmesan.

Serves 4.

Chorizo, Chickpeas and Spinach

It’s been one of those days, late meetings, cranky kids and I still have to make dinner! After a quicks assessment of “what is left in the pantry” I came up with this Spanish inspired dish. Instead of cured chorizo, I used fresh Mexican chorizo – added some chickpeas, sherry vinegar and spinach – voila – one pot meal that’s tasty and fast.

Ingredients:
8 oz Mexican chorizo
2 cans chickpeas, drained
1/4 c sherry vinegar
2 bags of baby spinach
Salt and pepper – depending on the spiciness of the chorizo
1/2 c toasted bread crumbs

In a 12 inch skillet, cook chorizo for 5 minutes, add chickpeas and cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sherry vinegar and spinach and cook until spinach is wilted. Top with breadcrumbs and serve.

Serves 4.