Spicy Chorizo Tortilla Filler

I have been travelling so much lately for work, that as you've no doubt realised, I haven't had much time to put recipes up on this blog. I still love to cook heaps... It's just I have slacked off on spending the extra couple of hours preparing and auditing to create each blog post.

So since I've been travelling so much, I thought a recipe inspired by my travels was definitely in order.

Yesterday I was a fraction early catching a flight back from Sydney when I called in to the Virgin Lounge.  Much to my surprise they had a Mexican Tortilla (or Nacho) sauce with a big "GLUTEN FREE" sign and a pile of freshly baked nachos and a massive stack of white corn tortillas.  Which honestly - in an airline lounge is pretty unusual.  I stuck with the GF Nachos as I figured it to be the safer option despite the sign actually saying the Tortillas were gluten free as well.  (I'm a lot more sensitive nowadays than I used to be... so generally I don't trust it unless I cook it.  But... in this case I gave it a little try).

So before I go any further... - Kudos to you Virgin Australia - Thanks for including a gluten free option in your lounge buffet.

Anyway - a spoonful of this sauce on a corn chip and I was in heaven.  It was REALLY good. Inspired - I actually rang ahead to my wife and asked if we could go out for Friday mexican with the kids. But alas that wasn't to be. So instead I've gone out of my way today to re create the Virgin Australia tortilla dish as best I could so we can have it as tonight's dinner.  I gotta say - I think mine's actually a tad better... but again, thanks VA for the inspiration.

So here goes... my Chorizo Tortilla Filler.  It feeds 6 to 8 persons.  It's a one pot wonder that will take about 45 minutes to prepare. I think it would also make an excellent tapas dish at parties. Cut up the GF white corn tortillas and use them as finger food to mop up the sauce.  So keep this one in mind next time you have to "bring a plate" at your next party / barbecue and you're scratching your head trying to think of that Gluten Free option that everyone will eat, not just you.

Ingredients.

• 2 x tsp of good quality olive oil for the pan.
• 4 x chorizo sausages (GF ones of course)
• 2 x packs of Mission white corn tortillas
• 1 x finely chopped onion
• 1 x tsp of coriander
• 1/2 x tsp cumin
• 2 x tsp crushed garlic
• 1 x punnett of cherry tomatoes (each cut on half)
• 1 x capsicum  (roasted / skin removed / finely chopped)
• 3 x 400 gram tins of diced tomatoes to use as the base tomato sauce for the recipe)  (Note only 1 x 800 gram tin is displayed in the ingredients photo below. I found I needed to add 400 grams more as the sauce reduced)
• 1 x 400 gram tin of chick peas (drained and rinsed)
• 1 x 400 gram tin of red kidney bans (drained and rinsed)
• 1 x healthy squeeze of lemon juice  (or half a lemon)

Method.
Spend ten minutes preparing the capsicum:

• Begin by turning on the grill and placing it on high.
• Chop up your capsicum into 4 or 5 pieces (seeds removed) and place the sections on the grill for around five to ten minutes. Place them flesh side down (skins up).  You want the grill to blacken and blister the capsicum skin quite heavily as it makes it easier to remove and also gives the capsicum a smoky flavour.
• When the skins are blackened, remove them from the grill and rub them under running tap water and you'll find the skins will peel off quite easily.
• You may need to grab some of the bits of capsicum skin and tear them off. But the majority should peel off with some rubbing
• If all of this sounds too hard, you can buy jars of pre skinned capsicums in your supermarket condiments row.

Cooking the actual dish....

• Add your olive oil to a large hot deep pan. (See photo for size of pan).
• Slice up the 4 chorizo sausages
• Finely dice your onion
• Finely chop two cloves of garlic  (Or just use two teaspoons of crushed garlic from a bottle) and add to the pan
• Add the chorizo pieces, onions and garlic together in the pan. They'll need to fry for about 5 minutes
• While they are frying off, get your punnet of cherry tomatoes and slice each tomato in half and add to the pan as you go.
• Finely chop up the roasted capsicum flesh and add to the pan.
• Once everything's pretty well fried off, add 2 x 400 gram tins of chopped tin tomatoes.  (Note in the ingredients - I later add a third tin {add at your discretion} as I thought my dish was drying out too much

By now it should be smelling pretty great. Chorizo sausages are a real treat in my humble opinion. So time to "Mexican up" the dish with the final bunch of ingredients....It's surprisingly easy to add the mexican flavours that will absolutely transform your dish.

• Grab a  lemon and give it a few hard rolls on the kitchen bench (as in apply pressure while rolling). It will soften up and be more juicy.  Cut it in half and squeeze half over the pan  (Be sure to cup in your hand so the lemon seeds don't fall into the dish).... OR... Use some squeeze lemon from the fridge if that's more convenient.
• Open both the tin of Chick Peas and the tin of Red Kidney Beans.  Tip them both into a colander and run them under the kitchen tap for a minute or two to wash off their brine.
• Once washed, toss them into the pan and stir them through
• Go to your spice rack and grab the Cumin and Coriander powders.  Add half a teaspoon of Cumin and a whole teaspoon of Coriander to the pan. (You don't have to be too precious with the measuring... the more the better in my opinion).
• Give your pan another thorough stir.  The smell through your house should just be amazing right about now.
• Put a lid on your pan (not necessary) and drop your hot plate to simmer for a further 20 minutes. This allow all the flavours to infuse through the dish. You'll find the Chick Peas and Beans don;t need much cooking.
• After 10 minutes, check the dish and decide for yourself if you want to add that third tin of chopped tomatoes (like I did).
• With five minutes to go, get another large fry pan. Place it over a mild heat and start to heat your tortillas one at a time.
• Place each one in the pan for around 20 seconds then flip to over for another 20 seconds.  I do this because it takes away the "rawness" you get with corn tortillas.  They just taste better warmed and cooked through.
• Another way you can prepare the tortillas is it to re-stack them on a plate with a piece of kitchen towel between each one and then microwave the stack for anywhere  from 30 seconds to 1 minute. I don't like this method personally as they sometimes stick to the paper and quickly become overly dry.  But feel free to give it a go.

So now after the final five minutes of cooking and with your tortillas prepared - you're done!

• Place your pan on a chopping board and take it straight to your table.  (Less washing up AND more dramatic) :-)
• Let everyone tuck in grabbing a tortilla each. 
• Add a little filling then fold them into a pocket / envelope shape and enjoy eating.

Word of warning - it can get a little messy too. But that's half the fun too :-).


Serve with a light red wine if you're keen :-).

Enjoy,

Lee :-)