Meat mains
Tomato & chorizo rice with green olives & spinach
This dish is like a beginner’s paella, no need for a specialist pan or rice. If rinsed well the rice won’t cloud the dish with starch and make it risotto-like. Be cautious with your seasoning in the early stages as the stock, chorizo and olives will all bring a saltiness with them.
Cook's notes
Blanching, cooling and squeezing the spinach may seem like a faff but it locks the bright green colour into the leaves and stops too much extra liquid from water-logging the dish in the final stages. Spinach will often bleed its colour too, which can make certain dishes appear a bit murky.
Ingredients
- 1 red onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- olive oil
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 200g brown basmati rice
- 200g cooking chorizo
- 80g green olives
- 75ml white wine
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- 200g spinach
- 1 lemon
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Put a kettle on to boil. Peel and finely slice the red onion. Peel and finely chop or crush 2 garlic cloves. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan and cook the onions on a medium heat for 5 minutes, until starting to soften.
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Step 2
While the onions cook, measure out 350ml of hot water from the kettle and whisk in the stock cube until dissolved. Rinse the rice under cold running water in a sieve. Remove the skins from the chorizo and break each sausage into 10-12 pieces. Add the garlic and chorizo to the onions and cook for a further 3 minutes.
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Step 3
Meanwhile, slice the olives into half's. Tip in the thyme, wine and rice, cook for 2 minutes more. Add the chopped tomatoes, olives and stock. Bring to a simmer, season with a little salt and pepper and cook gently for 20 minutes, until the rice is plump and tender.
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Step 4
While the rice cooks, put a pan of salted water on to boil. Wash the spinach and blanch it in the pan of boiling water for about 30 seconds, until it wilts.
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Step 5
Drain and cool immediately in cold water. When the spinach is cold, drain and squeeze out as much water as you can with your hands. Roughly chop the squeezed spinach.
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Step 6
When the rice has cooked, stir in the chopped spinach to warm through. Adjust the seasoning to your liking and serve in bowls with lemon wedges for squeezing.