red pepper and chorizo paella

moro's chorizo and spinach paella is an old favourite and perfect if you need a "meat hit" after an inadvertent week of vegetarian meals. i normally follow the recipe to the letter (well, not quite, it calls for the addition of pork fillet which i don't bother with, preferring to increase the chorizo content) but this weekend i made a change.

i used a red pepper in place of the specified green pepper. a small change but one that really affected the dish, and for the better i think. it was much sweeter and richer in flavour which balanced really well with the spiciness that came from the picante chorizo and picante smoked paprika that i used (the recipe calls for mild chorizo and sweet paprika but i like the chilli kick that picante versions add).

a small change can be a really lovely way to rediscover something old and familiar.

Comments

[lillyanne]

This is funny - I just checked your original entry for the recipe and saw that you were (two years ago anyway) finding MORO EAST the least enticing Moro cookbook. For me, it's the best of the three! The roast chicken with sumac is my all time favourite, as are the pumpkin pisto and jewelled pumpkin rice. But the one I return to the most of any Moro recipe is the braised fennel with jamon - you have GOT to try it if you haven't already got there. And the bulgar salad with celery & pomegranate's great too. And - and - and ...

Incidentally, I had a completely brilliant salad in Lyme Regis on the May Bank Holiday weekend, at Hix's oyster & fish place. It was a combo of finely chopped celery, thin sliced radish and pickled walnuts, and chopped flat leaf parsley. It was truly terrific, maybe the best salad I've ever eaten in a restaurant. Every ingredient, of course, squeaky fresh and lively.

[abby]

lillyanne - i am still not into moro east. shamefully i think it remains uncooked-from! :(

however, we have various friends staying over the next few weekends so i'll stock up and try out the recipes you flag.

your hix salad sounds wonderful - only this morning i was thinking about the fact that it'll be radish season in a minute! i'll have to track down the pickled walnuts as well though.

thank you for the inspiration.

[bellini valli]

Risotto and chorizo sound good right about now..or maybe later on since it is still breakfast:D