Coming home from a few days in Spain, using up my euros in Malaga airport (while we waited, and waited, for a delayed flight), I bought a bottle of Rioja and a whole chorizo sausage.
I'd already bought delicious pil pil spice mix from the market, so of course, the first dinner I cooked on my return was a gambas pil pil and chorizo in red wine, to go with a tomato + onion salad (and bread of course).
My gambas pil pil needs another go before I share the recipe (I over-cooked the prawns), but the chorizo in red wine was incredibly easy and very delicious.
You just need a whole chorizo (I used the smaller 'half' to cook it again today) - and put the sausage into a frying pan or small saucepan.
Pour over a nice big glass of a dry Rioja (and go on, have a glass too while it cooks), add a bay leaf or two, pop on a lid and cook over a low-ish heat.
Simmer for 15 minutes, turning the sausage once during the cooking time.
And this nice slow simmering lets all the beautiful spices and paprika into the wine to create a gorgeous sauce.
While it cooks, I made a quick tomato + onion salad, seasoned just with salt, pepper and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and sliced some bread.
After 15 minutes, take the chorizo out, slice and return to the pan to mix with the wine sauce, before moving it to a bowl to serve.
Have with your favourite tapas dishes or, like today, just with a salad and some good bread (and maybe another glass of wine).
Gambas pil pil recipe coming soon!