Spain Vs Lancashire
Whilst doing the weekly meal plan (yes, I know) I came across a recipe for a chorizo casserole in a Nigella Lawson book How To Eat I think). It sounded good, but I remembered I had some blackpudding in the freezer that needed using up, and that made me think of hotpot. The thing I like most about hotpot are the thin crispy potatoes on the top. I’m not a big fan of potatoes, but the meat juice soaked crunchyness makes them tremendous. In the end I made a sort of bastardised hotpot, with chorizo and other Spanish flavours, and added dumplings to the top because, frankly, I love them.
You will need
All ingredients were by eye so don’t use these numbers too seriously.
for the casserole
- 200g of chorizo
- An equal amount of black pudding
- 2 medium onions rouhly chopped
- A couple of cloves of garlic
- Enough potatoes to cover the top of your casserole dish
- About a pint of stock (I used a veg stock cube)
- A good squeeze of tomato puree
- A cup of dry sherry (100ml or so)
- 200g of self raising flour (unmeasured)
for the dumplings
- Plain yogurt (I was using up, milk would have been just as good)
- A large pinch (3 finger pinch) of dried herbs
- A bob of margarine or butter (about a heaped tablespoonful)
for baked carrots
- carrots
- a blob of butter
- a quarter of a lemon, sliced.
Do
- Sweat onions and garlic in the oil on the hob top until glassy (10⁄15 mins on a low heat)
- Chop chorizo into pound think slices
- Chop black pudding into thicker slices. I removed the skin too (optional)
- Put the oven on 180 oC
- Bring the stock almost to the boil and add tomato and sherry.
- Dump chorizo, pudding, onions, garlic and stock into your casserole dish (I’d had mine in the oven so everything wnent in hot)
- Slice potatoes about coin thickness and layer across the top of the dish. Remember you’re adding dumplings later so not too tight.
- Stick dish in the over
- Meantime make the dumplings. Mix flour, herbs, yogurt and fat to a wet dough. I probably added a pinch of salt.
- Slice carrots and stick them in a roasting dish with a few slices of lemon and a knob of butter.
- After about half an hour until everything is bubbling and the potatoes all have crispy tops, lift the dish out
- Push potatoes to one side in a few places and tuck blobs of dough about the size of golf balls into the gaps. They should have their bottoms in the hot liquid.
- Return to the oven for about 30 minutes and add the carrots too.
- Ready when the dumplings a risen and golden and the carrots are sticky and still a little crunchy.
Result
The whey gives you crispy crust and the ricotta being smooth and delicious. A splash of roasted garlic oil would go well too I imagine (I didn’t have any in).
