NAUGHTY CHORIZO

Ingredients

Chorizo
3 cloves garlic
2-3 tsp honey
Spice vinegar/sherry

I love the name, it could be the bad guy in a poorly shot western movie but instead it’s yet another recipe from yours truly that the Heart Foundation has tried to censor. Really good chorizo is a food group in its own right (as I see it), so how can you make them taste better? Inspired by a recent dining experience at a tapas bar in Sydney, I went back to my kitchen and had a crack. Here’s what I came up with.

Method:

Take two chorizo and remove the skin, cut into chunks and start frying on medium heat on a non-stick pan.
Grab three cloves of garlic, bash with the flat part of your knife and throw in the pan, skin on.
As the fat in the chorizo starts to melt onto the pan drizzle honey over the top and continue cooking.
When the juice starts to stick to the pan, de-glaze with sherry or spice vinegar and put in a bowl to serve.

Wash this down with a glass or three of 2014 Chalk Hill Vermentino, the lifted tropical fruit and cutting acidity of this wine is the perfect match for this very naughty yet satisfying snack.

NAUGHTY MUSHROOMS

Ingredients

Olive oil
6 or 7 Swiss Brown mushrooms or 15-20 button mushrooms
Butter, the real stuff, none of this salt reduced or spreadable rubbish, 3 or 4 slices from a standard size stick
Soy sauce, you can use Worcestershire if no soy
3-4 cloves garlic White vinegar
Chives, any greenery will do, even basil but I prefer chives
Recklessness

Method:

Halve or quarter the mushrooms depending on size and add to fry pan on medium-high heat.
As you sauté the mushrooms, add butter (in slices so it works in quicker, three or four slices off a standard stick) and garlic (crushed).
As the butter integrates add a splash of soy so that the mixture in the pan becomes light brown. I say ‘splash’ because it is better to be conservative with this flavour as it can dominate if used too liberally. Of course by now you’ll be saying “geez, that smells good” as you rescue a mushy or two from the pan for quality control.
At this point you’ll note a very rich flavour which for me was enough for years but recently I’ve found the addition of vinegar at this point helps to balance this dish and cut through the butter… again, add a splash only and taste again until you’re happy there’s balance. Like so many wines ‘balance’ is in the palate of the beholder.
When the juice reduces further (no more than five minutes here on med-high heat) empty into a serving bowl, grab a hand full of chives and snip into small pieces and toss in with the mushrooms and serve.
If you forgot the vinegar at this point grab a fresh lime (or lemon) and squeeze over the top.

What I like about this dish is that the chef de jour can add a new chapter and honestly, trying to format this into a ‘recipe’ was quite challenging. You’ll find the more you play with this combo the more they will become your own Naughty Mushrooms.

Wash them down with the 2014 Geoff Hardy hand Crafted Eden Valley Riesling (my new Riesling of the moment, love it!) or 2013 Hamilton Burtons Vineyard Grenache, a long time favourite food wine.