Chickpeas with Chorizo

Chickpeas and chorizo are a very standard combination in Spain.  Sometimes you see chickpea and chorizo stews and sometimes you just see chickpeas and chorizo sauteed together.  Every once in awhile you see some spinach thrown into the mix.  Tonight we decided to sautee together chickpeas, onions, garlic, chorizo, and flat leaf parsley, all seasoned with a pinch of sweet paprika and a splash of sherry vinegar.  Together they make a hearty, satisfying meal - one that we served with some pan con tomate and a simple arugula salad.  The bitterness and freshness of the arugula salad helped lighten the whole meal up so that it felt appropriate for a 90 degree summer evening.  I know that some recipes include some toasted bread crumbs in their chickpeas with chorizo and I think we will definitely try that out next time.  I also might throw in some baby spinach to saute up with the chickpeas and chorizo for a little variety.  That would make this dish more of a one pot roughly 20 minute meal, which sounds pretty awesome to me.

Recipe after the jump!

Gambas al Ajillo (Traditional Garlic Shrimp)

Jaleo was one of the first tapas restaurants I remember visiting with my family around 5 years ago.  We visited both the Washington, DC and the Bethesda, MD locations.  Since then I feel like tapas restaurants of every possible variety have opened up in NYC and across the country.  And not all of those tapas restaurants are serving authentic Spanish tapas - there are plenty of restaurants claiming to serve Asian, Mexican, Greek (tapas are properly called mezze across the Eastern Mediterranean) and fusion "tapas."  Three or four years ago tapas were the next big thing.   Now they are kind of old hat, but in the best way possible.  Since Jaleo was one of the first tapas restaurants I visited in the US it holds a special place in my heart.  So a few years ago I picked up Jose Andres' cookbook Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America because he's the chef/owner of Jaleo and he's one of the best tapas chefs, both of traditional tapas and of more innovative tapas based on molecular gastronomy.  Somehow the cookbook got shuffled to the bottom row on the bookshelf and we forgot about it for awhile.  Oops.  But after tonight's dinner, I'm going to make sure that it doesn't happen again.

While I was at the gym I left Alex in charge of figuring out what recipe to use with the jumbo shrimp I picked up at Fairway yesterday.  When I got home he told me we were making Jose Andres' Gambas al Ajillo.  I was both impressed and excited.  Good job honey.  The shrimp were amazingly quick-cooking and tasty.  From start to finish I think the recipe took 10 minutes.  The flavor of the shrimp was all about the garlic, with just a touch of heat from the red pepper flakes and then sherry for some zing.  The Red Cat Zucchini we prepared with the shrimp made the perfect light and quick summer dinner.  It probably took me 15 minutes from start to finish to prepare the zucchini, but a grand total of 3 minutes (or less) of actual cooking time.  Combined the two dishes used up one cutting board, two pans, and less than 30 minutes.  What a wonderful, quick, and easy summer dinner.

Recipes after the jump!