Spicy, smokey, delicious...

pronounced: chore-reeth-oh (always)

Chorizo is widely used in Spanish cooking. (I knew that). And, Spanish chorizo is made from coarsely chopped smoked pork, red pepper, chilli and paprika. I knew the paprika bit, but, I’ll admit, I didn’t know smoked pork was used. I also didn’t know that it’s pronounced: chore-reeth-oh, ( been heavily over using the ‘z’(oops))...

M: Chore-reeth-oh.

H: So no z?

M: Z?

H: Yeah, Z – chore-rizt-oh

M: No. definitly no z, never, always.

...And, the outer 'skin' should be peeled off before cooking – no one told me that, either!

Chorizo can be bought as a whole sausage, raw and ready for cooking or dried and cured ready for eating – sliced like salami, to be enjoyed raw as tapas.

Spanish chorizo gets its smoky flavour and wonderful red-colour from Pimenton, which is smoked Spanish paprika (watch out it’s very spicy). When cooked, chorizo releases a delicious spicy red oil, so, recipes using chorizo often don’t need any additional oil to be added to the pan.

Vanessa (all-round gorgeous person, who recently joined the team at Maria’s) made a delicious chicken and chorizo dish (recipe below) using Spanish chorizo available from At Maria’s and Ultracomida.

This is delicious, serve with a green salad and crusty bread to mop up all the sauce

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