Last week I had off from work for our “midwinter” break.  It wasn’t a very relaxing week but cooking, for me, is very relaxing. Five hours of cooking can actually be quite relaxing as well.  And that’s what happened when I decided to take on the challenge that Joan of Foodalogue put in front of her readers – create a dish from Ethiopia.  I made six Ethiopian dishes and ingredients and, yes, it took me five hours to create all of it.  But, in the end it was all worth it.

Ethiopian cuisine is one that I have only recently become acquainted with and when I first tasted it, I was hooked.  While researching for this post I realized how little is out there on this fabulous cuisine.  Anthonly Bourdain recently said that he believed Ethiopian food would be the next big trend in eating and I have to agree that it should be.  It’s delicious, communal, flavorful, fun to eat and relatively healthy (except the ridiculously high amount of butter used in the dishes).  We’ll see if his prediction is correct.  I mean how can you go wrong when all you have to eat with is your hands and some deliciously sour, sponge and crepe-like bread called injera?

The two biggest staples of Ethiopian food are a spice mixture called berbere and a spiced clarified butter called niter kibbeh (see both recipe below).  Many Ethiopian recipes utilize one or both of these ingredients.  The other staple and accompaniment to Ethiopian food is injera bread which is traditionally made from a specific type of flour called teff and usually takes three days in order for it to ferment causing its sour taste.  I didn’t have teff flour so I utilized Saveur magazine’s recipe which wasn’t as delicious as the authentic type but did the trick.  Brushing lemon on the bread gave it a bit of the sour flavor I was craving.  As mentioned earlier, injera bread is used as your plate, fork, knife and spoon when eating Ethiopian food.  Your food will come in small piles scattered on a a big injera where you will tear off bits of the outside layer in order to get the food in your mouth.  You continue until you eventually have to eat the layer that has sopped up all the flavors of each dish you chose.  These are some of the best bits but you’ve got to get to the end of the meal to savor them.

Ethiopian food is like no other – it borrows ingredients from Portugal (chile peppers), the Orient (ginger) and India (spices) to create a taste that is very, well, Ethiopian and very different to anything you’ve ever eaten.  Most of the recipes found below are based on things found in the cookbook Exotic Ethiopian Cooking and a blend of other website recipes I found.  I recommend you all give Ethiopian a try, whether you have five hours to cook or have always been curious to try that Ethiopian restaurant down the street.  Vegetarians and non-pork eaters will have a field day and even the pickiest of eaters will enjoy this fun and fabulous cuisine.  So thank you, Joan, for pushing me to finally create Ethiopian food at home.  Now that I’ve done it I’ll be doing it again.  Now, I hope you will try your hand at it!

BERBERE (Ethiopian Spice Mix)

• 1/4 cup ground red pepper (about 8 Dried Chiles de Arbol, blitzed in a spice grinder)
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground fenugreek
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom (about 6-8 cardamom pods, blitzed in a spice grinder)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves (about 4-6 cloves blitzed in spice grinder)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 3 tablespoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons dried onions, blitzed in grinder, or 2 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tablespoon salt and 1/2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

**Grind chiles in a spice grinder. Toast all seeds for about 3 minutes, allow to cool and add everything to spice grinder and blitz. 

NITER KIBBEH (Ethiopian Spiced Butter) – Makes about 1/3 cup – for the effort you may want to double or triple this recipe

• 1 stick + 1 tablepoon unsalted butter
• 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and then grated on a microplane or grater
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 red onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon ground fenugreek
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon tumeric
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• pinch of salt

What to do:

1. Melt butter on low heat and skim off the foamy, white layer that that floats to the top as butter melts (this is how you make clarified butter).
2. Add onion, garlic, ginger and spices and allow to cook on low heat for 15 minutes.
3. Turn heat off and allow to rest for 5 minutes.  Strain the butter mixture using a fine sieve or cheesecloth and store in a cool place.

YEKIK ALICHA (Ethiopian Split Peas)

• 1 cup yellow split peas, soaked for 1 hour
• 1 cup of water (or veggie stock)
• 1 cup chopped red onion
• 1 tablespoon ginger (1 inch piece, peeled and grated)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 jalapeno peppers, minced
• 1 tablespoon nitir kibbeh (spiced butter)
• 1/2 teaspoon tumeric
• salt and pepper to taste

What to do:

1. Bring soaked split peas to a boil and then lower to simmer for 30 minutes.
2. Drain if there is extra water and then mash well (they will be very soft and will mash easily with a fork).
3. Add butter  to another pan and stir fry onion and garlic for a few minutes till onion is translucent.  Add ginger and spices and give a quick stir.  Add back the mashed split peas, jalapenos, salt and pepper and a cup of water (or veggie stock).  Reduce for a few minutes until you have a thick puree.  Serve on or with injera.

GOMEN (Stewed Collard Greens and Cottage Cheese)

• 1 lb collard greens, stems removed and chopped
• 1/2 lb of cottage cheese (about 10 ounces), drained
• 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced and smashed to a paste
• 2 tablespoons nitir kibbeh (spiced butter)
• salt and pepper to taste

What to Do:

1. Boil greens until tender.  Drain and press down to get rid of all the excess water. Finely chop greens.
2. Add butter to a pan and cook onions for five minutes then add ginger and garlic and cook for a minute or two. 
3. Add greens and stir. If you find it needs a bit of moisture, add a touch of water or stock.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Transfer to a bowl and stir in drained cottage cheese.

ZIGNI WE’T (Ethiopian Spiced Beef Stew)

• 1 lb minced beef
• 1 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1/4 cup berbere
• 1/4 cup nitir kibbeh
• 1 tablespoon ground fenugreek
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ginger, peeled and minced
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup wine (red or white)
• salt and pepper to taste

What to do:

1. Fry onions for a few minutes and add garlic and ginger.  Add berbere plus water, stir.
2. Add nitir kibbeh and sprinkle beef while stirring.  Allow all the beef to cook and all the liquid to be cooked away. 
3. Add rest of spices, stir. Allow to cook until meat is done, about 15 to 20 minutes.  Serve on or with injera.

This is the way we are with a dish we call “lidia’s lamb”. I’ve no idea what the real name for it is since I’ve never looked up a recipe for it and I’ve only watched it being prepared once, on TV, by Lidia Bastianich, on her show Lidia’s Italy, but that’s what we call it. Essentially, it’s lamb shoulder chops braised in a sauce made from dijon mustard, anchovies, garlic and chicken stock, but such a description belies its richness and savory flavors and, if you’re crazy and you don’t like anchovies, it will put you off. So, just take it from me, you need to try this dish. It’s virtually impossible to mess up, it’s delicious and you can make it from scratch in under an hour, making it perfect for a weeknight meal, or if lamb is hard to find or expensive where you live, a good option for a dinner party because it’s so easily scalable for larger numbers. Plus, once you’ve made it the first time, you’ll be having cravings for it a lot.

Lidia’s Lamb
(recipe serves 2, but for more just scale the recipe up. You’ll probably need more than one pan too, but you can figure that out yourself)

Ingredients
2 lamb shoulder chops (4-6 oz each)
approx. 2 pints chicken stock
2-5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (depending on your tolerance for the stinking rose)
1-2 shallots, finely chopped
2-4 anchovy fillets (the salty ones in oil, you know what I’m talking about) (add more of less depending on how squeamish you are about anchovies – see final note below)
6-8 tbsp smooth dijon mustard (we prefer Maille, but Grey Poupon is fine. Don’t even think about using American yellow mustard! Save that for your hot dog.)
2-3oz plain flour
2 tbsp olive oil
black pepper to taste

Recipe
Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat. Dredge chops in flour and shake off excess. Hit pan with the olive oil and add the chops.
Cook chops for about three minutes per side, or until golden brown. Make a hot spot in the pan and add the shallots and garlic.

Allow these to saute for a couple of minutes until softened and fragrant, then add the anchovies. Stir anchovies vigorously around the pan until they start to disintegrate. After about another minute or two, add enough stock so that the liquid is at the same level as the “top” of the chops. Using your tongs, scrape the crusty bits off the bottom of the pan and turn the chops over. Add about half the mustard at this point and stir it in.

Reduce heat to medium and allow chops to braise in simmering liquid for about another 25-30 minutes, turning chops occasionally. Keep an eye on the level of the liquid and add more stock whenever it falls below the “top” of the chops. Meat should have begun to pull away from the bones after about 30 minutes.

Taste the sauce at this point. It should taste like it needs more mustard. Add some or all of the remaining tablespoons of mustard according to your taste. Increase heat to medium-high and allow sauce to thicken for about another 5-8 minutes. When it’s done the sauce should be around halfway up the chops and be of a medium thickness, with a pleasant sheen to it. Check seasoning and add black pepper to taste before serving.

We often serve this with some roasted potatoes because they usually take approximately the same amount of time to cook as the meat, providing you cut them reasonably small, parboil them first, and slap them in at least a 400F oven. We also often serve it with some asparagus, kale or broccoli di rape on the side. It sounds kind of heavy I know, but it’s really pretty well-balanced and very satisfying. I promise you, you’ll like this one.

And, just a final note, if you’re worried that the people you’re cooking for don’t like anchovies, I will be amazed if they can tell this dish contains anchovies. All the anchovies do here is add a salty, umami-ish flavor to the dish that brings it all together. You’ll notice that I don’t add salt to the recipe – that’s why. So, please don’t exclude the anchovies because the dish will not be the same without them. Again, just trust us on this one.

Continuing with more comforting winter foods, I decided one night to make Ribollita again. Traditionally, this Tuscan dish is usually made one day using whatever leftovers were around and reboiled (what ribollita literally means in Italian) the next for even more of a flavor power-punch. I also read that ribollita should take a total of three days to make! That’s some soup! It should also be made with stale bread, similar to another delicious Tuscan soup, Pappa al Pomodoro, we made months back. The stale bread not only needed to be used up, but it thickened the sauce too. We actually left the stale bread out of our recipe because the veggies made it super thick, but please add it to yours! And, similar to the Spanish Cocido (which also requires a long cooking time), ribollita ingredients and recipes vary from region to region in the country.

Another traditional ingredient in ribollita is cavolo nero (Tuscan black winter cabbage/kale). This stuff is all over Tuscany, we even, no lie, saw it growing on the side of the highway in Italy. It’s beautiful and, damn it!, we can’t buy it that easily even in New York City. I’ve seen it at various farmers markets, but I have yet to see it in any of my local stores. It is a deep, dark green, very nutritious and has alot of “give” meaning it can withstand to be cooked for a good amount of time. I used regular kale and some savoy cabbage instead.

We have travelled to many countries over the past few years and one thing I’ve learned is that poor-people’s food is the absolute best type of food. There is something so amazing and inspirational knowing that the poorest people were able to take all the rich’s ‘throw-away’s’ and create so many delicious, memorable and traditional meals. To me, they are the true hero’s of the culinary world and I look to their techniques to inspire me every day. Not measuring, using whatever around, cooking tough cuts of meat and making them taste absolutely delicious… this is peasant food.

As a reminder, I did not add bread to my recipe, but I am including it in this one. Another thing to remember is, of course, this meal will be more delicious if you soak and cook tried beans. I used canned cannellini beans because of time. I also added a rind of parmigiano reggiano for added flavor. This is also optional. Finally, we totally bucked tradition and added some sausage because we had to use a few links up. Regardless of how you do it, this is a meal in a bowl and is extremely delicious! Please give it a try for yourself.

RIBOLLITA (Tuscan Vegetable and Bread Soup) – Serves 4-5

• 2 cans cannellini beans
• 8 cups of vegetable stock/broth
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 celery stalk and some of it’s greens, chopped
• 1 leek, cleaned and chopped
• 5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 head of kale, ribs removed and sliced thinly
• 1/2 head of savoy cabbage, sliced in thin ribbons
• 2 yukon gold potatoes, sliced into wedges
• 1 large zucchini, sliced into wedges
• 2 cups passata (or tomato puree)
• couple sprigs of fresh rosemary
• fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red hot pepper
• parmigiano reggiano rind (optional)
• 2 links of sweet or hot italian sausage, sliced (optional)
• 1/2 loaf of day-old Italian bread (cut into cubes – traditional, but optional)

What to do:

1. Saute the onion, carrot, leeks and celery in some olive oil until they are relatively soft (bout 8 minutes). Towards the end, add the garlic and saute for a few minutes. Add zucchini, the kale and cabbage and saute for 2 or 3 minutes.
2. Add the herbs and hot pepper flakes.
3. Cover all of this with your vegetable stock and add the passata (tomatoes). Add your cheese rind and sliced sausage (optional).
4. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Simmer on low/medium-low for about 40 minutes. Add your canned cannellini beans and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Check to see if it needs salt and adjust accordingly.
5. If you choose to add stale bread, add it at the very end… allow to soak up some broth (about 5 minutes) and allow it to break down. Stir into your soup.
6. To serve, add a piece of the parmigiano rind to the bottom of the bowl and ladle in some broth and plenty of vegetables. Top with lots of grated parmigiano reggiano and some chopped parsley. Enjoy!

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Now, of course, it’s not true. The British do not, as far as I know, eat toads, though, if frogs are edible, and taste a bit like chicken, then I might be prepared to try toads, if sauteed with a little garlic and parsley. However, the British do eat toad in the hole – a delicious, simple and filling dish that is one of my father’s perennial favorites. I, like my father, love this dish too and had been threatening to make it for my wife for months until recently, when the weather got cold enough to warrant a meal with sausages, eggs, flour, milk and gravy, I finally got around to it.

It went down very well, I’m glad to report, and it’s an easy, inexpensive and relatively quick meal to make on a weekday night. You should try it whether you like amphibians or not.

Toad in the Hole with Fresh Mushy Peas (serves 4)

For the batter:

• 1 1/2 cups plain flour, sifted
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk

Crack eggs and whisk yolks and whites together. Add to flour and mix into a paste before adding milk and whisking until smooth. Set aside, or refrigerate, until ready to use.

For the “Toad”:

• 8 sausage links (about 1 1/2 – 2 lbs), separated
• 1 onion, sliced thinly
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
• 1 pint hot water
• 2 tbsp Bisto (or use some beef stock and thicken w/ cornstarch)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper

Recipe for main dish:

Preheat oven to 425F. Heat skillet to medium-high and add oil. Brown sausages on all sides, then remove them. Lower heat to medium and add onions. Saute them until soft. Add garlic and pinch of salt. Combine water and bisto powder. Continue to saute for four or five mins, until onions are becoming translucent, before adding gravy mixture. Reduce heat to low and allow liquid to reduce by about a third.

Grease a 12inch baking dish with oil and place sausages in it. Pour the batter mixture around the sausages and slap it all in the oven for about 20 minutes or until batter is risen and golden-brown. Serve in portions of two sausages and pour onion gravy on top. Goes great with the peas but sauteed cabbage, collard greens, kale or broccoli rabe are also good accompaniments. Enjoy!

For the peas:

• 1 lb frozen peas
• 1/4 stick unsalted butter
• A dash of light or heavy cream (about 1-2 tablespoons)
• 1/2 cup water

Simmer the peas in the water for about 12 minutes until soft. Add the butter, cream, salt and pepper and then smash the peas, but make sure to leave them with plenty of texture. Serve on the side of the toad-in-the-hole.

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My wife and I share the cooking duties in our house, but of late, she’s been doing the bulk of the cooking because I’ve been getting home too late from work and its been annoying me that I’ve not been able to cook. However, she is the one that normally makes this dish, as with many Italian dishes (I tend to do better with traditional British recipes – a heritage issue, I guess), but because I managed to get home in reasonable time tonight, I decided to do the honors and let her relax with the cat.

For a first-timer, without a recipe and only having watched it being prepared before, this one worked out rather well and, gratifyingly, received my wife’s seal of approval. The key seems to be the garlic and white wine, and giving the pasta time to cook into the sauce.

Here’s how to do it:

Ingredients

• 6 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• 1/2 large spanish onion, finely sliced
• 1 cayenne pepper (1/2 habanero), finely minced, or 2-3 good pinches dried red pepper flakes
• 1/2 head kale roughly chopped, stems on (just remove the last,woody inch of stems)
• 1lb sweet Italian pork sausage (with fennel, sage, or as we did tonight, cheese, rosemary and tomato)
• 3-4 ripe, medium tomatoes, cubed with seeds
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 4tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2lb orecchiette (ear-shaped) pasta
• 4tbsp grated parmesan or romano cheese
• salt and black pepper to taste

Recipe

• Heat saute pan to medium high and add a splash of olive oil just before adding sausage. Brown sausage on both sides, approx. 4 mins per side, and remove to a plate. Be sure to leave fat in pan!
• Reduce heat to medium and add onions to pan and allow to soften in the fat. Just as they begin to brown add garlic and hot pepper. When garlic takes on a bit of color hit pan with the wine.
• Add pasta to boiling, well-salted water. Bring back to a boil, cover and set timer for 8 minutes.
• Turn heat back up to medium-high and add kale. Toss mixture together and after two minutes, reduce heat to medium again before adding tomatoes.
• When tomatoes look like they’re collapsing into the sauce, add the sausage, and turn to medium low.
• Check pasta is a little less cooked than al dente. Kill heat under pasta and turn heat to high under saucepan. Using a spider or a slotted spoon, add pasta to saucepan DO NOT POUR PASTA WATER AWAY.
• Mix pasta and sauce together and add enough pasta water to lubricate the bottom of the pan. Cook for another minute or so on high, or until pasta is al dente and sauce looks silky.
• Kill fire and add cheese. Spoon pasta into bowls and finish with a glug of really good olive oil and an extra sprinkle of cheese.

CHECK OUT SOME OF THESE OTHER GREAT PASTA RECIPES:

• WATERCRESS & RICOTTA RAVIOLI WITH A RADICCHIO BUTTER SAUCE
• GNOCCHI DI PATATE WITH A BROWN BUTTER, SAGE, BREADCRUMB SAUCE
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• PASTA (PERCIATELLI/BUCATINI OR SPAGHETTI) AL’AMATRICIANA (ROMAN CLASSIC PASTA DISH)
• PASTA WITH LEEKS, ASPARAGUS, MUSHROOMS AND GRUYERE, TOPPED WITH A FRIED EGG
• PASTA (BUCATINI) WITH PISTACHIO SAUCE
• PASTA WITH TUNA (Pasta Con Tonno)

***Also, this picture was manipulated in Photoshop, clearly. It was kind of out-of-focus, so I just (barely) jazzed it up. It actually doesn’t look too jazzy, but check our flickr.com pics for the non-manipulated ones. Regardless, it’s still a nice dish to eat.

FETTUCINI WITH SPICY KALE AND VEGGIES IN A CREAMY MARSALA SAUCE

Ingredients

• 1 lb of fettucini
• 1/2 head of kale, stems removed and thick vein sliced out, cut into thin ribbons
• any leftover veggies you may have (we used some sliced brown mushrooms, and 1 thinly sliced leek)
• 1 hot pepper, sliced with seeds or 1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
• 5 rashes of bacon, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/4 cup of porcini stock or chicken stock
• 1/4 cup marsala wine
• 1/4 cup of light or heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 cloves garlic
• good handfull of parmigiano reggiano
• salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

What to do

1. Cook your bacon until crispy in the pan you will make your dish. Drain on a paper towel, reserving just a bit of the bacon fat in the pan, and set aside for later.
2. Take your sliced hot pepper and your ribbons of kale and add to the same pan, using some of the leftover bacon fat (or add some olive oil) to saute it for 30 seconds to a minute. Add a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of water – cover and let steam until water evaporates – about another minute or two. Remove kale and set aside.
3. Slice up your leftover veggies into bite-sized pieces. If you are not using leeks, I would recommend chopping up some onions to add flavor. Thinly slice your garlic. Saute in some olive oil until soft.
4. Boil the water for your pasta.
5. Add your veggies and saute all until medium soft. At this point, deglaze your pan with the marsala wine (or white wine if you choose). When it has decreased by half, add your porcini stock (or chicken stock if that’s all you have on hand). Let this decrease in half by simmering.
6. As your wine is reducing, add your pasta in to cook – remember to cook it to al dente!
7. After your stock has reduced, add a pat of butter and stir till melted into stock.
8. Next, add your cream. You may decide that you do not need all 1/4 of a cup.
9. Add your pasta with a small bit of the pasta water into your pan. Toss with the cream sauce and veggies. Add back the crispy bacon and spicy kale and toss again.
10. Add a big handfull of parmigiano cheese and and the tablespoon of pepper. Taste for salt and add if necessary.
11. Garnish with parsley if that’s your thing, drizzle with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and dig in!

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Several years ago, on a trip to northern Spain I found myself in the small town of Santillana del Mar in the region of Cantabria on a cold and rainy night. Outside the hotel, a herd of dismal-looking goats shivered together in the lee of a thorn bush as it got dark, and all I wanted after a miserable day of traveling was a hot dinner and a bottle of wine.

Walking into the only restaurant in town, which had only one other diner, I went swiftly to the back in a vain attempt not to be conspicuous. The room was dimly-lit, oaky and very, very warm – the stone floor was actually warm to the touch, yet the other diner sat opposite from me in a jacket, scarf and an ancient beanie.

The menu I was presented with wasn’t much of a menu at all, being a small chalkboard with items handwritten in a spidery cursive that I couldn’t decipher a word of, except the “postres” section which offered a choice between flan and fruta. In fact, that was the only choice on the menu it turned out when the thick-set hostess took my order, but at 9 euros for three courses, including drinks and bread, choice might have been too much to ask.

Unsure as to what I was about to eat, I settled in to my complimentary bottle of red wine, jug of tap water and enormous loaf of bread. Shortly after, a deep clay bowl of “cocido” (see “The Real Cocido“) was placed in front of me. Stirring it, lumps of potato, carrot, chorizo, smoked ham and chick peas rose to the surface. Twenty minutes later, I was sweating, full, and only halfway down the bowl, as the proprietress circled, eyeing my attempt at the starter(!) and, with contempt, she pointed out that I had left the greens untouched at the bottom of the bowl.

Fortunately, she spied my desperation and whisked it away, and kindly gave me ten minutes grace before delivering the main course — a large pork schnitzel with a whole roasted red pepper on top. To my credit, I did finish this course, and washing it down with rest of my wine, I was looking forward to a nice fruit salad to finish.

The dessert was a pear. It came with a plate and a knife. That’s all. A fitting end to a simple, rustic dinner.

I’ve spoken highly of this meal regularly since then, and on days like today, when the rain is coming down like crazy and I’ve had an exhausting day at the office, I still crave cocido. Unfortunately, we can not make the traditional dish quickly – typical Castillian cocidos are supposed to simmer slowly for hours over a fire. We would also need some other Spanish sausages and various pork products to make it authentic. Since I don’t have a huge black cauldron and hours to prepare it, no morcilla (Spanish blood sausage) or pork belly and we use kale instead of cabbbage, we can’t dare call this a real cocido. Instead, it is a dish inspired by that wonderful meal in Cantabria – I will call it Chorizo, Chickpea and Potato Soup. Even though I use a ready-made stock, it does turn out well in a hearty, warming way.

CHORIZO, CHICKPEA AND POTATO SOUP

Ingredients

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 carrot cut into thin half-moons

5 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped fine

2 large potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes

1/2 lb curly kale, roughly chopped

1 24oz can of chickpeas

2 tbsp chopped parsley

2 tomatoes, diced

2-4 chorizo links (Spanish-style not Mexican) cut into half-inch cubes

2 large smoked ham hocks

3 pints hot chicken stock

salt and black pepper to taste

Recipe

Sautee onions, potatoes and carrots until soft and potatoes become slightly crispy. Add chorizo and ham hocks and allow the fat to render before adding the garlic. Add chickpeas when you can smell the garlic, and cook together for five minutes, stirring occasionally, before adding stock.

Bring to a boil and simmer gently for 30 minutes before adding the kale. Cook for a further five minutes, and skim off orangey (delicious chorizo) fat before adjusting seasoning. Serve in deep bowls, topped with diced tomatoes and parsley, and if you like, some thick slices of rough, country bread.

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