Hot and Spicy on a Hot Summer Day

I think the first time I tasted chorizo was years and years ago in Barcelona. It was one blazing hot week in July - the streets of the beautiful city being red-hot and the hotel room boiling hot. The perfect escape  seemed to be the tiny tapas bars where air conditioning worked surprisingly well  *not* so in addition to the burning sun on my skin I got to turn on the heat inside of me as well, in the form of heavenly hot chorizo cooked in red wine and enjoyed bowl after another with a glass of refreshing cava.

Ever since chorizo has been one of the regulars on my shopping list. I do not only cook it in red wine  (or eat straight from the package) but bake little bread parcels filled with chopped chorizo and make pasta sauce of sliced chorizo, pineapple, blue cheese, jalapenos and cream. Bagels with chorizo are a favourite in the kids’ lunchboxes and chorizo suits deliciously on a pizza. Chorizo goes well with chicken, too, and I have always wanted to create The Perfect Dish combining these two ingredients with an 'extra-something’. I have tried various cheeses, cream, tomatoes… and finally I think I have found the combination which gives my tastebuds the most pleasure: chicken fillet stuffed with chopped hot or at least medium-hot chorizo, sliced Manchego (sheep milk) cheese, seasoned with lots of smoked paprika, quickly fried on a pan and then cooked in the oven.

Before sharing my recipe I would like to share a story first: I was recently at Fallon & Byrne in Dublin with The Little Brother. We were standing at the meat counter when he noticed a huge (about 20cm in diameter) chorizo sausage there and wanted to buy some. I asked the shop assistant if the chorizo would be very hot so she gave us a slice to taste and decide ourselves. “Tooo hot-hot-hot!!!” commented The Little Brother, and pointed at another chorizo sausage asking me if we could maybe taste that one, too. We got a slice, and this chorizo, made by Irish Gubbeen Farmhouse Products was delicious and not too spicy for him. “100 grams, please”, I said before The Little Brother would start asking for more samples (because I knew he would). After I got our chorizo neatly sliced and packed I gently but firmly took his hand and headed to the cashier. Just in time for him to live happily with his chorizo slices the rest of the day and not knowing about the barrels full of olives beside the meat counter. Otherwise I would not sit here writing but most likely stand eye-witnessing a never-ending tasting session with lots of debating if chorizo tastes better with black olives or green olives stuffed with garlic...

Chicken Fillets Stuffed with Chorizo and Sheep Milk Cheese (for 6):

6 chicken fillets (mine weighed about 170g each)

180g Manchego (sheep milk) cheese

200g chorizo

Salt and black pepper

3 tbs smoked paprika 

 1. Using a sharp knife cut a pocket to each chicken fillet. Open the fillet and gently pound each side.

2. Chop the chorizo into small cubes and cut the cheese into thick slices - I cut mine into twelwe slices, two for each chicken fillet.

3. Fill the pocket with chorizo and cheese and use cocktail sticks to close it.

4. Fry the stuffed chicken fillets quickly on a hot pan on both sides and put them in an oven-proof dish brushed with vegetable oil. Rub the fillets with smoked paprika and add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Cook the chicken fillets in the oven at 200°C / 390°F for about 20-25 minutes. 

6. Serve with tomatoes stuffed with bulgur wheat.

 

Tomatoes Stuffed with Bulgur Wheat and Herbs (for 6):

6 large tomatoes

1 dl / ½ cup bulgur wheat

3 tbs olive oil

Fresh herbs (basil, chives, oregano, parsley)

Salt and black pepper to taste 

1.  Boil the bulgur wheat on low heat for about 10 minutes and drain.

2. Wash the tomatoes and cut a thin slice from each stem end. Scoop out centres. Discard seeds and chop the rest into small cubes.

3. Chop the fresh herbs and together with olive oil, salt and pepper and the chopped tomatoes add to the cooked and drained bulgur. Check the taste.

4. Stuff the tomatoes with the bulgur mixture and put the 'lid' on.

5. Bake in the oven at 200°C / 390°F for about 15 minutes.

Chicken Stuffed with Chorizo and Manchego Cheese & Tomato Stuffed with Bulgur and Herbs:

Cook's Notes:

*A thin fish fillet knife is handy when cutting the pocket to the chicken.

*You can never use too much smoked paprika...

*There are lots of Irish sheep milk cheeses. I will have to try them, too, and not always stick to the old brand(s)!

Jury's Comments:

"I don't want anything green in my tomato!" (Son, 13)

"Is there any more chicken?" (The Little Brother, after eating his stuffed fillet)

"Would taste good BBQed [too]." (Husband, who'd BBQ everything when the weather is sunny and nice)