Chorizo Stew and Brown Rice

 

When I go to the grocery story I love looking for new things to try and cook with.  Today it was Mexican Ground Chorizo.  I've never cooked with it before, nor have I eaten it, but it's made from ground beef or pork, so I figured I could make it work.  This week seemed to fall under the category of "wahhhh waaahhhhh."  Just like the last post, this meal was good, just not great.  I'm not even sure what I would have done differently.  The Chorizo is filled with spices, which gives it a lot of flavor on its own.  Luckily, Blake and I both liked the flavor of the Chorizo, it was just difficult to add any depth to it because it was so strong.  That would be my only complaint about this recipe.  

Try some things out if you make this and let me know what you think.  Like I said it was a great meal, that was extremely generous on the pocketbook and didn't take very long either.  I am not a chef, or even a cook for that matter.  I'm simply someone trying to learn how to cook through trial and error and a lot of "googling" of terms and techniques.  With that said, I have no idea what makes a "stew" a stew.  The name seemed fitting, so don't be disappointed when you realize it's not like your mothers beef stew or beef and noodles.  

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. Ground Chorizo - spicy (pretty sure it's the only way it comes, but you never know) 

1/2 Sweet Onion - diced 

1 Green Bell Pepper - sliced 

2 Cloves Garlic - Minced 

1 Cup Red Wine (Anything you have is good) 

1 Cup Chicken Stock 

8 oz. Heavy Cream 

Goat Cheese for topping

1.  In a large pot, begin browning the Chorizo.  Once the Chorizo begins browning, add in the bell pepper, onions, and garlic.  Don't worry about adding any oil or butter. The Chorizo has enough fat in it, and adding it in will only add unnecessary calories.  

2.  Once the peppers and onions begin to soften and the Chorizo is pretty much cooked fully, add in the red wine and chicken stock.  Keep the stove on medium high heat and reduce the sauce by half.  

3. Before finishing, add in the heavy cream and allow the sauce to thicken by reducing.  Taste the stew to see if salt or pepper is needed.  I didn't add any in this recipe, because the Chorizo seemed to be salty enough.  If you feel that your stew isn't spicy enough (you're crazy), I'd add in a Jalapeno or Serrano at this point as well. 

4.  I served this over homemade brown rice, but you could also do quinoa, risotto, or white rice.  You could even use the microwave rice that cooks in a minute if you'd like too.  I happen to have a big bag of brown rice left over from a previous recipe experiment. 

5.  Top with crumbled fresh goat cheese

*** I always like to serve my dinners with at least one vegetable.  In this case I served a Cool Corn Salad on the side.  This ended up being perfect because it worked exactly as I had hoped, and helped to cool off our burning tongues!  Of course the milk helped too.