Spanish Potatoes and ‘Chorizo’ with Red Pepper...

Years ago for some special occasion I can’t now recall I borrowed some Spanish cookbooks from the library and made my husband a big Spanish tapa’s style dinner. I can hardly recall all the dishes I made, I think there were seven of them, but Spanish Potatoes and Chorizo was one of them. I’d never had chorizo before, and I remember the dish being so full of flavor and heat, it was delicious. I’d always intended to make it again but then I went vegetarian and forgot all about it. Until a few days ago when I was hit with a craving for potatoes, red peppers and spice. I had some chorizo sausage that I’d frozen after Thanksgiving that I could use and decided what better way to put it to use then to try and veganize that old recipe and put my own spin on it?

Well of course it was years ago now that I made that dish, three at least, and I can’t for the life of me recall the name of the cook book the recipe I originally used came from, nor the author who penned it. I remembered the basic components of the dish, onion, garlic, potatoes, chorizo, and olive oil but not the quantities or how to make it. No matter, with my fragmented memories and creative determination I entered the kitchen ready to begin.

Now this recipe does require several steps, but it’s not a difficult recipe, and if you do everything in a particular order and engage in a little advanced prep it really isn’t all that time consuming either. I was able to fairly quickly through it together last night and I was writing the recipe as I made it. So don’t let the length of the instructions daunt you, because trust me this dish is so delicious and so worth making!

Spanish Potatoes and ‘Chorizo’ with Red Pepper

3 Tbsp Olive Oil
8 Cloves Garlic Minced
1 Yellow Onion Chopped
6 Medium Russet Potatoes, skinned and sliced thin on a Mandolin
*½-1 lb Vegan Chorizo Sausage
*1-2 Red Pepper Roasted or Broiled, Skin removed, and sliced thin
1 tsp Paprika
Sea Salt and White Pepper to taste
½-1 Bunch Cilantro Finely Minced
dash of lime juice (about a tsp)
Water as needed

- Slice your potatoes on a mandolin slicer. If you don’t have a mandolin you can cube the potatoes into ½ inch cubes but I prefer the look of the thinly sliced potatoes, they also cook quickly this way and give the dish more uniformity.

- Heat a pot of water on the stove. When boiling add in your sliced potatoes and boil for 5-10 minutes until potatoes are al dente. Softened, but not fully cooked through. Drain in a colander and set aside.

- Meanwhile Place 1 Tbsp Olive Oil in a pan and heat on medium-high. Add Onions and garlic and saute on Medium-High for about six minutes. Reduce heat to Medium and saute another six minutes. Reduce heat to Medium-Low and continue to saute until onions are brown and beginning to caramelize. Remove to plate and set aside for later.

- Grate your Chorizo sausages using a cheese grater. (If you wish you can slice it thinly but I prefer to grate it, it gives it more of a ‘ground sausage’ sort of look and it helps to even out the spiciness of the dish) Heat one tbsp of olive oil in the pan you sauteed your onions in, over medium-high heat. Add the grated chorizo and saute on medium-high for five minutes. Stir to make sure chorizo doesn’t stick, if it’s looking kind of dry add in a little water to prevent sticking. Reduce heat to medium and continue to saute another 10 minutes or so until chorizo is fragrant and slightly browned. Reduce heat to low and add in the onion garlic mixture.

- Add your reserved potatoes, remaining tbsp of olive oil, paprika, sea salt and white pepper to the chorizo and onions. Stir to thoroughly combine then cover and cook over medium for about five minutes. Stir potatoes again, if it seems dry or potatoes are sticking you can add in a little more olive oil or as I did water. Add in about 1/8 of a cup at a time and let it absorb before adding more. It’s okay if potatoes break up a bit when you stir them, most will remain intact. I find using the back of a wooden spoon helps to keep them together. Once water has been added re-cover and cook another fifteen minutes, checking every five minutes to stir and add more water as needed.

- Add in your cut roasted/broiled red pepper and stir to combine. Add in your dash of lime, and minced Cilantro and stir. Add more water if needed and cook another five or so minutes until red peppers are heated through. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.

PS: My husband ate the leftovers today for lunch, and as he sat down to the table he felt inspired to drizzle a little ketchup over top of them. He said it was delicious and enhanced the flavor of the dish. So perhaps you may like to try this as well.

*** Note - If you can’t find Vegan Chorizo you can cheat and use Field Roast’s Chipotle Sausages. (Or another vegan sausage that’s comparable.)I think the Filed Roast work really well, and to me they have a very similar flavor to what I remember actual Chorizo tasting like.***

*** Note - Roasting or broiling your own red peppers is easy. I prefer broiling because it’s quicker. All you have to do is grease a broiler pan, and set the pepper under the flame for about 10 minutes on high until the skin has blackened. Then remove from the oven and place the pepper in a bowl in the freezer to ‘quick chill’ after about five to ten minutes remove it from the freezer and the skin will peel away super easy! ***

*** Note - Soy-Free if using Soy-Free Sausage or Gluten-Free if using GF Sausage***