Chorizo stuffed Calzone

Friday is pizza day for us...which means Dominos home delivery or pick up a pizza from the super market and jazz it up a bit. Last Friday i thought i should do something different and decided to make a Calzone instead.

I suck at getting the dough consistency..the same reason why i still buy frozen chapati's...and so bought a Pizza base mix where the correct water measure was mentioned and i just had to follow instructions..now that, i can do! So the dough part was taken care of, though I still struggled with the kneading and the flattening due to lack of patience and proper utensils. This is what i did for the filling:

Chorizo- 1 cup (cut into small bit size cubes)

Spring onions- 4 sprigs, whites and greens roughly chopped

Tomato puree- 1/4 cup (or more..i don't really like too much of tomato)

Grated Mozzarella Cheese- 1/2 cup

Pepper powder- to taste

Chilli sauce- 1 tbsp (optional)

Grated Cheddar Cheese- to sprinkle

Butter- 1/2 tsp

Cook the chorizo slices lightly, remove from pan and discard rest of the oil keeping behind just about 1 tsp. Sautee the spring onions in the same oil for about two minutes. Add the tomato puree and cook till you see bubbles. Add the chorizo, pepper pwd and chilli sauce and mix it all together. Take it off the flame.

Assembling:

In a baking tray spread out the pizza dough.

Place the filling on one half of the flattened dough. Top with mozzarella cheese and if you want some of the cheddar as well.

Carefully fold the other half of the pizza over the filling and seal the edges well with a fork.

Cook in a pre-heated oven (200C) for 15 minutes. Take the tray out and brush the melted butter on the calzone and place it back in the oven for another 5 to 6 minutes. Once done, cool on a rack for 5 minutes and then slice into two. Sprinkle the rest of the cheddar and serve hot.

Notes: You can use any filling of your choice...veg or non-veg.

Spring onions can be replaced with red onions or shallots even, and the purée can be replaced with lightly mashed tomato.

The calzone was pretty huge, and it was like a meal on its own. I'd halve the recipe if i need smaller portions

Chorizo Quesadillas with Margaritas and Mexican Cookies

I am a big sucker for Mexican food and i can have it any number of times in a day and continuously for a couple of days..well that's a bit of an exaggeration, but i love Southern food so so much. Sunday lunch like i mentioned before was very southie...almost. We had the Buffalo wings, quesadillas and margaritas and Mexican cookies..yes I'd like to go all out when it comes to themes.

Quesadillas can have any sort of filling and you can basically jazz it up your way. Since i had already tried my hand at Chicken quesadillas, i thought id use Chorizo (Spanish/ Mexican cured sausages spiced with different seasoning etc) instead. Good choice, i must say. It was over in no time.

Flour tortillas- 4

Spanish Chorizo- 1 cup, diced (or you can remove the casing and use the meat only)

Spring onions- 1/4 cup (both greens and bulb)

Red pepper- 1/3 cup, diced (optional)

Monterey Jack Cheese- 1/2 cup

Mexican blend cheese- to garnish

Salsa- i cup ( i got ready-made ones)

Sour cream- 1/4 cup

Cilantro- freshly chopped, for garnish

In a frying pan, lightly cook the chorizo. There is no need to put any oil, as quite a bit of oil oozes out of the sausage. Make sure you do not over cook, as it becomes hard. Remove and drain on paper towels

Discard some oil and in the same pan, sautee the spring onions and red pepper till soft. Add the sausages to this and give it a final stir. Remove and keep aside.

Keep a stove-top grill ready. Assemble the tortillas, i.e., spread some sour cream and salsa evenly on the tortilla, load it with the chorizo stuffing (about 3 tbsp) and then layer with the Monterey Jack cheese (again about 2 to 3 tbsp). Grate some Mexican blend cheese on top, just for the flavour, garnish with cilantro and sandwich with another tortilla. Slightly press them so that the ends are sealed

Place on the hot grill and cook for about 2 minutes, each side. Carefully flip it and once the cheese has slightly melted, take it off and repeat the process with the remaining tortillas and filling.

Serve with a dab of sour cream and salsa and some Mexican blend cheese.

Notes: If you do not have tortillas, you can use chappati's...yes you can..have tried it

You do not need a grill per se. You can do the same procedure in the frying pan, or in a pre-heated oven for a few minutes, or if you are extremely lazy, in a microwave...i have tried all three methods, and the best would be the grill.

The measurements given here are approx. You can increase, decrease the cheese, cream, filling etc. as per your choice.

I usually make my own Margarita, but since i knew i was going to be super busy i picked up a Sainsbury's Margarita (all mixed and ready to serve) instead. I brushed the glass rim with lime juice and dipped it in salt and topped the glass with the mix and some tonic water, since the mix was a little too strong for me. This is not how the real one is made, but i liked the fizz though.

The Mexican Cookies' recipe can be found here. It says Melting Moments, but this is more or less how it is.

Chorizo al Vino

Don't get carried away by the name..its just chorizo in red wine and a very very easy dish to make. We discovered this at a Spanish tapas joint called La Tasca and fell in love with it. I was on the look out for chorizo and couldn't find fresh ones at the supermarket, so on one of our regular trips to Borough market we picked up a few at the Spanish stall. Here is the recipe:

Chorizo- 3, cut in small

Garlic pods- 3, thinly sliced

Dry red wine- 1 cup or even more depending on your taste

Olive oil- 1tbs

Parsley- a handful

Sizzle the olive oil in a hot pan. Once it starts to smoke, throw in the garlic and chorizo and sautee till they are slightly done. Pour the wine and mix well on low heat. The mixture should be semi gravy-like and the chorizo should take in the colour of the wine. Take it off the heat and garnish with parsley.

It can be served on its own or with small cubes of bread to dip in.

Note: Oil oozes out of the chorizo as well, so don't overdo the olive oil.

Be careful when you pour in the wine, it can flame up.