Warning: Do not look at the ingredients list on most packages of chorizo.
My husband found this recipe in Food & Wine magazine, and, being a chorizo lover, requested that I make it. My only previous experience with chorizo was New Year’s Eve a few years ago, when that same husband made chorizo tacos for our group of friends. Except he used the wrong type of chorizo, and they were mushy grease bombs. After a few too many glasses of champagne, I swore off chorizo forever. And champagne.
The champagne swear-off didn’t last that long, so I thought it was time to try chorizo again.
This recipe calls for “dry” chorizo. That was where the hubby went wrong last time, I think. The dry version looks like a pepperoni stick or linguica, while the other (wet? Oh, I just Googled it – it’s chorizo fresco) version is more like a pound of mushy Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage.
Because I don’t know much about chorizo, I looked over the entire package. And came to the ingredients list.
Salivary glands. Lymph nodes.
OK, I know processed meats are made mostly of leftover parts of the butchered carcass. Still, I like it when they just put “pork” on the label. Don’t tell me specifically what part of the pig it came from.
I suppose if I’m OK with eating an animal’s muscle, I should be OK with eating its salivary glands. Why is one better than the other? Just cultural mores, really.
Still.
Yuck.
As for the recipe, it’s a pretty good one. The only problem I had was the phyllo dough I bought was thinner and shorter than what the recipe called for, so it was a little tough tucking the sides in as I rolled them up. After the first batch, I cut the phyllo dough into five strips instead of six, and it seemed to work better. Although even these basic folds and rolls were pretty much advanced origami to me. I’m not great with small details.
It would also have been good with some sort of dipping sauce. The photo in the magazine showed a small bowl of sauce, but there wasn’t even a hint in the text about what it could be. Hubby recommended maybe some sort of red chili sauce.
A lack of dipping sauce didn’t stop our dog.
After making the recipe, the family enjoyed a few before leaving the house for a few hours. For some strange reason, neither my husband nor I moved the plate — that still held a dozen of them — away from the edge of the counter, even though we both said later that we had thought of doing so.
When we came home, hubby walked into the kitchen and saw phyllo confetti covering the floor.
Cali the yellow Lab continued laying in the corner, wagging her tail and looking up at us with her eyes, without lifting up her head. Sure sign of a guilty pooch.
Recipe: Goat cheese and chorizo rolls
Adapted from recipe in Food&Wine magazine
- 8 ounces fresh goat cheese
- 1 cup chopped dry chorizo
- 1 1/2 tablespoons minced chives
- salt and pepper
- 12×16 inch sheets of phyllo dough
- butter, melted
- Cook the chorizo according to the package
- In a bowl, mix the goat cheese, chives and cooked chorizo; season with salt and pepper to taste
- Brush one sheet of phyllo dough with melted butter
- Top with two more sheets of phyllo dough, buttering lightly
- Cut the phyllo dough into six rectangles
- Place a tablespoon of filling at the base of each rectangle, and roll up the phyllo, folding in the sides
- Repeat twice more to make 18 rolls
- Brush the rolls with butter and place on a baking sheet
- Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, until golden
More tasty recipes
Leek and goat cheese tart
Tomato and goat cheese salad with basil vinaigrette
Swiss chard with beets, goat cheese and golden raisins
Man, this recipe sounds delicious!
For a guilt-free snack, try Soyrizo, the vegan chorizo alternative. It looks, cooks and tastes exactly like chorizo — and you can find it in most supermarkets. (Vons carries it for sure.)