Let loose in the kitchen

I love cooking, and I certainly enjoy the fruits of cooking, be it my own or other peoples. One frustration I have, however, is not having time during the week to cook much. So we've come up with a compromise, Judith & I: as she's at Uni on Fridays, which is my day off, that's the night I do the cooking. And tonight was the first night.

We'd actually been out to eat last week, and had visited a Tapas bar in the city centre. One of the dishes we tried was a chicken & chorizo dish, which we'd both really enjoyed. So I thought I'd do my take on that.

I cut up the chorizo into 1cm slices, and fried them in a little olive oil. When they'd started to brown I added a sliced red onion, and fired it off until soft. To this I then added a can of baked beans, a generous squirt of tomato puree and a good glug of red wine (accurate measuring!). That was then left to simmer, while I browned off the chicken breast, which I'd cut into 2-3 cm cubes, in olive oil, with a twist of black pepper and salt. When that was just starting to colour I added a splash of red wine, stirred, and then added the chicken to the other pan. A small glass of water finished it off, then I left the stew to simmer for about 15 minutes. I served it in a bowl with a rocket salad and a couple of slices of beef tomato.

Judith said that all it lacked was double the amount and some friends to share it with. I take that as a compliment!

She also made the point that it's usually men who, when they've cooked, feel the need to describe what they've done to all and sundry. Maybe she's got a point!