VIDEO RECIPE: Buttermilk Biscuits with Chorizo Sausage and Quick Tomato Compote

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Here's the second installment in Rock Recipes video cooking series with CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Regular readers know I love my Sunday Brunch and this recipe is a real stick-to-your- ribs kind of start to a busy weekend day. Check out how to make the lightest buttermilk biscuits and how to quickly and simply make some homemade chorizo sausage. Add some quick-cooked, fresh tomato compote and scrambled egg and you've got one outstanding brunch dish.

Find the individual recipes in this dish at the links below: 

Buttermilk Biscuits

Chorizo Sausage

Spicy Quick Tomato Compote 

Chorizo and Garlic Mini Quiches with Smoked Cheddar Sauce

Here's a delicious weekend brunch idea that uses frozen puff pastry as a time saver. Some herbed hashbrowns served beside one or two of these scrumptious mini quiches will make a great satisfying brunch for family or guests. Line the muffin tins with the pastry the night before, cover with plastic wrap, and store in the fridge to save even more time in the morning. You can have these on the table in a half hour if you use this tip.

Lightly grease 12 muffin tins.

One pound package frozen puff pastry, thawed

Cut the pastry into 12 squares and fit the squares into the greased muffin tins. Place in the refrigerator while making the filling.

Filling

6 large eggs
½ cup whipping cream
¼ cup sour cream
4 cloves finely chopped garlic
½ cup grated aged cheddar cheese
¼ tsp paprika
Salt and pepper to season
½ cup chopped chorizo sausage

Share the sausage, minced garlic and the cheese by placing equal amounts in each of the 12 pastry lined muffin cups.

Whisk together the eggs, sour cream, whipping cream, paprika, salt and pepper and pour into the muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and the centers are set.
While the quiches are baking, make the smoked cheddar sauce.

Smoked Cheddar Sauce
In a small saucepan combine and cook for 2 minutes over medium low heat

2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter
¼ tsp black pepper

Whisking constantly pour in

1 cup hot milk

Remove from heat and season with salt to taste, then add

1 cup grated smoked cheddar cheese

Let stand for one minute to allow the cheese to melt, then whisk until smooth. Serve over the mini quiches.

Chorizo Spaghetti Bolognese

This is another comfort food recipe for me and one that I really enjoy as a winter warm-up dinner. The chorizo and bacon make for a very smoky sauce which I really love. The sauce can also be made ahead of time and just warmed up as the pasta cooks. Make the sauce this weekend for a welcome Monday workday dinner.

Serves 6
1 pound dry spaghetti pasta
Cook pasta in well salted water for 8-10 minutes.

4 strips smoked bacon, chopped in small pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
2 cloves minced garlic
1 small minced carrot
1 stalk finely chopped celery
½ cup minced red onion
1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
4 ounces chopped hard chorizo sausage
3 cups low sodium beef broth
1 cup red wine
¼ cup tomato paste
1 tbsp dry oregano (or 3 tbsp fresh chopped oregano)
1 tsp crushed fennel seed
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Kosher salt to season to taste
3 tbsp hot sauce (optional or to taste)
½ cup heavy cream (optional)

In a large heavy bottomed saucepan, add the bacon and cook slowly over medium high heat to render the bacon to crisp. Drain off the bacon fat if you prefer, then add the butter, olive oil, carrot, celery, and red onion and cook until the onions are softened. Add the ground beef and chopped chorizo sausage and continue over medium heat until the beef is well browned.
Add all the remaining ingredients except the cream and simmer for about a half hour or more over gentle low heat. If adding cream, do so in the last 5 minutes of simmering the sauce.

Serve over the cooked pasta. Sprinkle with parmesan bread crumbs if desired.

Parmesan Bread Crumbs

1 ½ cups coarse bread crumbs
3 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp cracked black pepper
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

Toss together the bread crumbs, parmesan, olive oil and pepper. Bake on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet for about 5-10 minutes or until crunchy, tossing the crumbs occasionally as they bake.

Chicken Chorizo Lasagna

Chicken Chorizo Lasagna

This recipe comes courtesy of Spouse (who I'm told by my 9 year old, doesn't get enough credit for her part in contributing to this blog). Spouse is an excellent cook in her own right and kitchen collaborations are a rule rather than an exception at our house. There are few collaborations in the clean-up department though, as my participation in tidying up the considerable mess I can inflict on a kitchen is rather lacking. She gets full credit for that part of the process! ;)

It was her idea to add chorizo to a lasagna recipe and this one is the result. I love chorizo sausage and it does add great flavor to this delicious lasagna. You can use either fresh chorizo or finely chopped cured chorizo. Other spicy sausage can also be substituted too. (You can also very easily make your own just click here for our easy homemade Chorizo Sausage recipe.) Sometimes like in the photo above, we even use leftover diced grilled chicken instead of ground chicken which I actually prefer.

You can use store bought lasagna noodles (fresh if possible) or make your own from the recipe provided below. If using dry lasagna noodles, I par boil them for 5 minutes before assembling the dish.

Homemade Pasta

4 cups durum semolina

2 cup all purpose flour

8 large eggs, room temperature

Combine flour and durum semolina and make a well in the center. Crack your eggs into the well and using a fork to beat the eggs, slowly begin to incorporate the flour into the eggs until everything is combined into a very stiff dough. You may add a little water to incorporate the dry ingredients if necessary but be careful not to make your dough too loose; it should still be quite a dense dough. Add a little extra flour if the dough is too sticky. The dough should be slightly stiffer than play dough.

Knead for 5 -10 minutes on a bread board, cover in plastic wrap and allow to rest for 20 minutes , then knead again and allow to rest again.You can use a pasta machine to roll the dough into sheets about 1/8 inch thickness or just a regular rolling pin on a well floured surface.

Boil pasta sheets for 1-2 minutes in salted water before using in the lasagna assembly.

For the sauce:
In a large saucepan sauté for 1 minute:

3 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves minced garlic

Add:

1 ½ pounds ground chicken (or pork or beef if you prefer)
½ pound chorizo sausage
1 small red onion finely diced

Cook until the meat has slightly browned. Add:

2 large cans (32 oz can) crushed roma tomatoes
½ bunch fresh basil
1 tbsp ground or crushed fennel seed
1 tbsp oregano
1 whole bay leaf
1 large carrot finely grated
½ cup finely diced celery
2 tbsp brown sugar
Salt and pepper to season
½ tsp chili flakes (optional)

Slowly simmer for about 30-40 minutes or until the sauce thickens, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf.

Ricotta Filling:
16 oz tub ricotta cheese
1 beaten egg
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Mix together well.

Start constructing the lasagna by adding a cup of sauce to the bottom of a large lasagna pan. Add a layer of pasta, half the remaining sauce, another layer of pasta, then the ricotta filling, another layer of pasta and the remaining sauce. Top with a final layer of pasta and

1 pound grated part skim mozzarella cheese

Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour depending on the size of your lasagna pan. Let stand for 15- 20 minutes before cutting and serving.

Bacon and Chorizo Frittata

I'm a big advocate of breakfast or brunch dishes for supper, especially during a busy work week. This frittata is a great suggestion for a very flavourful, quick and easy weekday supper or weekend brunch idea.

Serves 4-6

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet. Add and cook until softened:

1 clove minced garlic

In a large bowl whisk together

6 large eggs
1/3 cup whipping cream
Salt and pepper to season
½ tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp hot sauce (optional)

To the egg mixture fold in:

8 slices crisp cooked bacon, crumbled
4 ounces cooked chorizo sausage, chopped
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
¼ cup chopped cilantro
1 roasted red pepper, diced
½ cup pitted kalamata olives
1 cup precooked pasta

Pour into a greased 9x9 baking dish or back into an oiled oven proof skillet.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the center springs back when pressed lightly.

Chorizo Breakfast Scramble on Fried Flour Tortillas

Serves 4

Begin by heating a large skillet over medium heat. Cover the bottom of the pan in peanut or canola oil.

4 small flour tortillas, cut in 1 inch strips

Fry the tortillas for about a minute on each side until light golden brown and crisp. These cook very fast and can burn quickly so watch them carefully. Drain on paper towels and hold in a warm oven.

Sauté together for 3minutes

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
8 oz chorizo sausage, chopped in small pieces
¼ cup red pepper, finely diced
2 cloves minced garlic

Add

8 beaten eggs
Season with salt and pepper
Few dashes of hot sauce (optional)

Cook to a soft scramble. Spoon scrambled eggs on the fried tortilla strips on 4 serving plates.
Top each plate with
1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese.
Black olives (optional)

Place the plates under the broiler for a minute to melt the cheese. Heat your favourite salsa and spoon over the melted cheese. Serve.