Brown Rice Risotto with Chorizo, Kale, and Beans

Yes, you can make a passable risotto using brown rice, and doing it in the pressure cooker cuts the cooking time to make it quite reasonable. Feel free to substitute spinach or whatever local greens you can find this time of year.

2 Tbsp butter
2 medium shallot or 1 small onion, minced
1 1/2 cups short grain brown rice
3 1/2 cups chicken (or veggie) stock, warm
1 lb chorizo, sliced or crumbled
4-6 cups chopped kale
1 1/2 -2 cups cooked cannelini
 Salt and pepper to taste
3 ounces goat cheese

Melt the butter in the pressure cooker. Add the shallot or onion and saute over medium high heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the rice and saute for another 2 minutes or so. Add the warm stock and stir. Cover and lock the pot and bring to pressure. Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes, then release pressure. Stir the risotto. If needed, continue to simmer over medium low heat, stirring frequently, until any remaining liquid is absorbed and the rice reaches the desired consistency.

While the rice cooks, brown the chorizo in a large skillet. When cooked through, add the kale and saute until tender. Stir in the beans. Add salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.

When the risotto is done, stir in the goat cheese. You then have a choice: either stir the chorizo, kale, and beans into the risotto, or serve over top of the rice.

Serves 4-5.

Red Lentil Soup with Chorizo and Kale

Red lentils cook quickly, a blessing when you are in a bit of a hurry.

Olive oil
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
1 1/2 cups dry red lentils
3 cups water or chicken stock
1 lb chorizo, casings removed
3 cups chopped kale
2 Tbsp dry sherry
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat a little olive oil in a soup pot. Add the garlic and onion and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add paprika, salt, and lentils. Cover with water or stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until lentils are tender, 5-10 minutes.

While the lentils simmer, cook the sausage in a frying pan until nicely browned and cooked through. Break it up into crumbles as you go.

When the lentils are tender, add the chorizo and kale to the pot along with the sherry. Simmer until the kale is tender, about 5 minutes. Add pepper and salt to taste.

Serves about 4.

Southwestern Rice and Bean Salad with Chorizo and Veggies

Cook up some rice and sausage ahead of time or use leftovers; this is a good dish for a hot night when you don't want to turn on the stove.

3-4 cups cold cooked brown rice
1 cup diced cooked chorizo
Kernels from 2 ears of corn (1-2 cups)
1 1/2 cups cooked kidney beans
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 - 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 large sweet red pepper, diced
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
Salt to taste
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 - 1 tsp chili powder
1-2 tsp lime juice (or to taste)

Combine rice, chorizo, corn, beans, scallions, cilantro, pepper, and cheddar in a large bowl and add salt to taste.

In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, cumin, chili powder, and lime juice and mix well.

Stir the yogurt mixture into the rice mixture until everything is well coated.

Serve cold.

Serves about 6.

Chorizo and Squash Scramble

I was going to make a frittata but decided at the last minute that a scramble would be quicker and easier. I really liked the combination of flavors and textures here. We had leftover grilled chorizo from Hager's farm, which went in here nicely. I served this for dinner, but it would also work for brunch or lunch.

2 cups shredded summer squash or zucchini
4 ounces cooked chorizo, diced
10 large eggs, beaten
2 ounces cream cheese, in small cubes
1-2 ounces shredded sharp cheddar
Oil or butter for cooking
1 can black beans, drained
Salt and pepper to taste

Place the squash or zucchini in a strainer over the sink. Sprinkle with salt, mix, and let stand for 10-15 minutes to release excess liquid. Then squeeze out as much water as you can using your hands or a dish towel.

Combine the eggs, cream cheese, and cheddar in a bowl.

Heat a little oil or butter in a large skillet. Add the squash or zucchini and saute for 2 minutes or so. Then add the chorizo and beans. Continue to saute over medium heat until warmed through. Add the egg mixture and cook, scrambling, over low-medium heat until cooked through. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4-5 as a main dish.

Spinach Chorizo Risotto

Yes, I know chorizo is not Italian, but with this set of ingredients you really can't go wrong.  Use the smaller amounts of spinach and chorizo for a more rice-heavy risotto, the larger amounts for a risotto that is about equal parts rice and other stuff.

You can chop the spinach in a food processor with a few pulses, though you'll have to do it in batches and be careful not to turn it into puree.

Olive oil
1 large shallot or small onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
3 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 - 1 lb chorizo sausage (sliced in rounds or casings removed and sausage crumbled)
1/4 - 1/2 lb spinach, stemmed, washed and finely chopped

Heat a little olive oil in a pressure cooker.  Add the shallot or onion and saute for about 2 minutes.  Add the rice and saute for 1 minute or so, until it turns translucent.  Add the chicken stock and stir well.  Cover the cooker and bring to pressure.  Once it reaches pressure, cook for 7 minutes, then remove from heat and release steam.  Open the cooker and stir the rice.  If liquid remains, simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until it is absorbed.

While the rice cooks in the pressure cooker, cook the sausage.  When the rice is done, stir in the cooked chorizo and the raw chopped spinach until well combined.  Serve hot.

Serves 4-5.

Spanish Style Lentil Soup with Chorizo, Red Pepper, and Kale

This one is definitely a keeper. Savory, hearty, smoky - and pretty to look at, too. Serve this with biscuits, popovers, or crusty bread. If you want to speed up the cooking process a bit, you can start the lentils cooking in water while you cook the garlic, shallots, and chorizo in a separate pan, then combine them.

Peppers, by the way, will be in season until we have a killing frost. Kale will go right into the winter.

Olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium shallots, finely chopped (or substitute a medium onion)
1 lb chorizo, casings removed
2 tsp paprika (substitute pimenton if you have it)
1 cup brown lentils
Water and/or stock (chicken or veg)
1 large sweet red pepper, diced
3 cups kale cut into ribbons (stems removed)
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a little olive oil in a soup pot. Add the garlic and shallots and saute over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Add the chorizo, breaking it up as it cooks, and the paprika. When the chorizo is cooked through, pour of excess fat (I actually use a baster for this and suck it out of the pot). Add the lentils and enough water and/or stock to generously cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until lentils are tender. Add the peppers and kale and simmer for 5 minutes or so, until tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4-6.

Asparagus Chorizo Pizza

Asparagus and chorizo have a real affinity for each other.

1 14-inch pizza crust
olive oil
4 oz. shredded mozzarella
1 1/2 cups sliced asparagus (1/8-1/4 inch rounds)
1/2 lb cooked chorized (sliced or crumbled)
1 shallot, minced
1 Tbsp minced fresh sage

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Paint the pizza crust with olive oil.

Spread about two-third of the mozzarella over the crust. Spread the asparagus and chorizo over the cheese, then sprinkle with minced shallot and sage. Top with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the crust is done and the cheese begins to brown.

Serves 3-4.

Variation: Toss some goat cheese on top of this or, if you have it, Manchego.

Pizza with Chorizo and Chard

Along with spinach and arugula, I spotted bunches of Swiss chard at the market this weekend and scooped one up for variety. Feel free to substitute other greens here. Chorizo is a spicy Spanish sausage, available from several of our local pork farmers.

1 14-inch pizza crust
Olive oil
1/2 lb chorizo
1/2 lb Swiss chard, coarsely chopped (stems optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup tomato sauce
3-4 oz. shredded mozzarella

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Lightly paint the pizza crust with olive oil.

Cook the chorizo in a skillet over high heat: either remove casings first and crumble as you brown it, or cook whole links and slice afterwards. When the chorizo is done, remove it from the pan and pour off most of the fat. Add the chard to the pan and saute until wilted, adding salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.

Spread the tomato sauce over the crust, then top with the chard and chorizo. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until crust is done and cheese begins to brown.

Serves 3-4.

Garlicky Spinach and Chorizo Pizza

We got some spinach at Winter Fare (yay, fresh greens!), and I've had some chorizo from Hager Brothers Farm in the freezer waiting for a good recipe. You can also get chorizo from Not Your Ordinary Farm in Guilford, VT - often available at the Greenfield Farmers Coop.

1 14-inch pizza crust
olive oil
1/3 lb chorizo
3-4 oz shredded mozzarella
1/4 lb fresh spinach, stemmed and rinsed
6-8 cloves garlic, minced

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Paint the pizza crust lightly with olive oil.

Slice the chorizo into 1/4-inch rounds and fry until done. Drain off the excess oil.

Spread half the cheese over the pizza crust, then top with spinach (it will be generously covered). Spread the chorizo over the spinach, then sprinkle with garlic. Top with the remaining mozzarella.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the crust is done and the cheese begins to brown.

Serves 3-5.