There are a few phrases that seem to bypass the brain and work directly on the salivary glands. For most diners, they might be “oven-roasted,” “nut-crusted” or “double chocolate.”
For me, that phrase is “controlled fermentation.” Of my top 10 favorite foods, about eight of them involve some form of controlled fermentation: Bread. Wine and beer. Cheese and yogurt. Vinegar. Dry-aged beef. And cured fermented meats like salami and Spanish chorizo.
Spanish chorizo, which is cured, seasoned with smoked paprika, fermented and air dried, is a chewy, dense, tangy pork sausage, closer in flavor and texture to dry salami than to Mexican chorizo, which is a fresh sausage that needs to be cooked before eating.
Spanish chorizo (my favorite brand is Palacios, available at Marczyk Fine Foods) is great with eggs or sliced and eaten with bread, butter and Manchego, or in a shellfish stew.
At Olivea, we use Spanish chorizo in a dish with head-on prawns, garlic, Amontillado sherry, shrimp stock and scallions. The shrimp stock, which can be made from shrimp shells, onion, carrots, white wine and tomato paste, gives the sauce body and color.
The inspiration for this dish is a tapa of mussels, Spanish sparkling wine, chorizo and scallions that I eat every time I visit my favorite restaurant, Casa Mono in New York.
The broth, thickened by the chorizo, and sopped up with lots of good crusty bread, is the real reason to make and eat this dish.
John Broening cooks at Duo and Olivea restaurants in Denver: ; .
Shrimp With Chorizo, Sherry and Scallions
Serves 4.
Ingredients
1 pound unpeeled shrimp (21-25 count)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup diced Spanish chorizo
6 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup Amontillado or other dry sherry
1 cup shrimp stock (recipe follows)
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
Juice of half a lemon
Directions
Peel the shrimp, leaving the tails attached. Save the shrimp shells. Devein and quickly rinse the shrimp.
In a large saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and lightly saute the chorizo. Add the garlic and cook 20 seconds until softened but not colored. Add the shrimp, season with salt and pepper and deglaze with the sherry. Cook until the sherry is reduced by half. Add the shrimp stock; remove the shrimp to a plate and reduce the broth by half or until thick. Add the scallions, toss in the shrimp and season with the lemon juice. Serve family style with plenty of toasted levain or other bread on the side.
Shrimp Stock
Ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup finely diced onion
2 tablespoons diced carrot
2 cups shrimp shells
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
1 bay leaf
6 peppercorns
Pinch cayenne
Water to cover
Directions
In a small saucepan, heat oil and sweat the onions and carrots. Add the shrimp shells and sweat until bright red. Add the tomato paste and fry about 1 minute. Add the wine, bring to a boil, and add the remaining ingredients. Simmer the stock about 45 minutes and strain.
