Chorizo Chickpea Summer Stew Food

CHORIZO & CHICKPEA STEW

Steps:

• In a frying pan, fry the chorizo, onion and garlic for 5 mins or until the chorizo is browning on the outside. Drain the excess oil, then stir in the spices.
• Pour in the tomatoes, lemon juice, chickpeas and seasoning. Bubble for 5 mins more to thicken slightly, then sprinkle over the parsley. Serve with toasted sourdough.

CHORIZO AND CHICKPEA STEW

Steps:

• If ever there were justification for cupboard love, this would be it: a full-on feast thrown together to enormous effect, simply with ingredients that you can more or less keep on permanent standby. And, like so many of these recipes, it's pretty well instant. After all, if you haven't got time to shop, it's hardly likely you'll be able to spend many hours at the stove.
• I am, anyway, a huge fan of bulgar wheat - think couscous, only more robust - but cooked like this, with some strands of pasta tossed in hot oil first, it really has something extra. I was taught to do this, just chatting stoveside, by an Egyptian friend when I was in my twenties, and I've never seen any reason to change the drill. He, actually, didn't use torn-up spaghettini but, rather, lokshen, which are the short lengths of vermicelli customarily found in echt chicken soup.
• This is a tradition about as far away from the chorizo-cooking culture as you could get, but the chickpea-studded, tomatoey and paprika-hot stew goes extremely well with the nubbly grain. I keep a stock of cherry tomatoes in sauce in the cupboard, but regular canned tomatoes could be substituted easily enough.
• Warm the olive oil in a thick-bottomed saucepan on a medium heat.
• Fry the pasta bits in the oil for a minute, stirring, until they look like slightly scorched straws. Then add the bulgar wheat and stir for another minute or two.
• Stir in the cinnamon and the salt, and then pour the water into the pan. Add the bay leaves, and bring to a boil, then turn down to the lowest heat, add a lid, and leave for 15 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed.
• Put another thick-bottomed saucepan on a medium heat, add the chorizo pieces and fry until the orange oil runs out. Then add the sherry and let it bubble away. Add the apricots (if using), along with the chickpeas (or beans) and canned tomatoes, and 3/4 fill each empty tomato can with water and swish it out into the pan. Put on a high heat to bubble for about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
• Serve with the bulgar wheat and, if there's any to hand, some chopped cilantro.

CHORIZO AND CHICKPEA STEW

Steps:

• Heat oil in medium saucepan on medium-high heat. Add peppers; cook and stir 4 to 5 min. or until crisp-tender, adding garlic for the last minute.
• Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to boil; cover.
• Simmer on medium-low heat 20 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

CHORIZO, ORZO & SWEETCORN SUMMER STEW

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and fry the white parts of the spring onions, the peppers and chorizo for 8 mins, until the peppers are soft and the chorizo is just golden.
• Stir in the garlic, orzo, paprika, sweetcorn and tomato, and fry for 2-3 mins more. Pour in the stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 8-10 mins, stirring often, until the orzo is tender. Stir in the parsley, the green parts of the spring onions, and the lemon juice and zest.

CHICKPEA, CHORIZO & SPINACH STEW

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pan, then gently fry the onion for 3-4 mins until it begins to soften. Stir in the carrot, celery, thyme and bay leaves. Season, then cook for 2-3 mins, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, chorizo, cinnamon and smoked paprika. Gently fry until the vegetables soften and the chorizo starts to release its oils and crisp up.
• Stir in the chickpeas, vinegar and 150ml water, then bring to a simmer for 1-2 mins until the chickpeas have heated up. Add the spinach, then stir through the chickpeas until it wilts a little. Remove from the heat, season to taste, then serve warm with crusty bread.