Chorizo and Kale Saute

I really love Spanish chorizo, the dry salami looking version, not the Mexican uncooked sausage meat kind (that makes a mean scramble). In a salad, with eggs or on its own, it is very, very moreish. To feel like I'm eating it with something nutritious, I cooked it up with some greens. It's quick, easy and there really are no measurements. You can adjust it to serve more or less, as a main or as a tapa. Just looking at the photo is making me crave chorizo all over again...

Chorizo and Kale Saute

My measurements are approximate- use what you have available in the quantity you have to hand.

100 g Spanish chorizo, sliced and halved (it can be hot or mild although I prefer it with a kick)
1/2 onion, diced
10 cherry tomatoes, halved (or 1 tomato diced)
3 handfuls of chopped kale (or other dark, leafy green)
1 handful of sliced mushrooms

Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the chorizo and cook a few minutes until the chorizo is browned and has release oil.

Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the chorizo and put to one side. Leave the oil in the pan to cook the remaining ingredients (it there is an excessive amount, drain some of it).

Add the onion to the pan and cook until translucent.

Add the kale and cook for a few minutes or until the kale begins to wilt.

Add the mushrooms and tomatoes and cook until softened.

Serve up with pieces of baguette or other crusty bread.

Tea leaves

Au Coeur Des Epices spice stall in Vence, France

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone! I swear I have abandoned my blog nor have I forgotten about you. Well if you are nosy like me and are wondering where the hell I've been...here's the last six weeks in a shortish list.

As with many of you no doubt, December was filled with many Christmas parties (which included four in one week at one point), which meant trying to cram four weeks of work into two (with many serious hangovers!), which was followed by a three week break back home in California (during which I managed to fit in a delicious lunch at the Chez Panisse Cafe, make tamales with my father (yes Johanna- I will bring you some when I see you next) and get conned into making Christmas dinner (which entailed making a stuffed and rolled beef roast that seemed to still moo no matter how long it was in the oven).

My immediate return saw me drop of my suitcases which were filled treats from home and have enough time to get back out the door, leaving The Boy at home, to ring in the New Year with a mate at the Kylie concert, which was totally awesome (in spite of my bizarre Mid-Atlantic accent that I've acquired over the years here, I am still a Valley Girl at heart), stumble home for an oh so brief slumber only to wake to be on top form to spend the day with the in-laws, go back to work for a couple of days so I could be inundated with emails and as I write this I am making a mental list of what I need to pack for a wedding I am going to this weekend in the South of France (with a hopefully spectacular dinner at Jacques Maximin).

I woke up jet lagged in the wee hours of this morning longing for a chance to sleep in but knowing that for once jet lag has given me a few hours of solitude to write, I can't complain. Life has been good to me the last few weeks and I intend to enjoy every minute of it before I return to reality, sleep or no sleep.

Xoch

PS- I promise to put fresh photos of my meal at Chez Panisse up soon but I can't seem to find my camera cable! If you are ever in California, the ONLY place to eat a burger is at In-n-Out!