Green Chorizo

So, I'm not ashamed to say I watch Top Chef.  In the last few episodes, they went to Mexico, and were showing off something called Green Chorizo. Now, I love chorizo, and I have a grinder, so I was interested in what the heck this thing was, and if I could make it.

The internet is sometimes helpful.

We start with pork shoulder and pork belly.  Chop that up.

Ok, here we go with the green stuff.  Roasted poblano, peeled and chopped,

Serrano and Jalepeño, diced,

Kale, blanched, shocked, chopped,

Cilantro,

Oregano,

And garlic, so it all looks kind of like this:

We're also going to want to toast some pumkin seeds, and roughly chop them.

Throw them in the bowl with the meat, toss with cumin, salt, and chipotle, then cover and chill for an hour or so.

Get your grinder set up, and throw the meat in, over a medium grind.

Time to test for flavors.  Grab a chunk, make a patty, fry it up.  If you need any more flavor adjustments, throw it into the bowl of ground meat.

All good? Awesome.  Put the fine grind die on the grinder, and pass the meat through again.

Ok, I know what you're going to say: It's not "really" green.  Turns out they use spinach powder and dyes to get a real green color.  Not gonna do it.  The flavors are there.  

So, yeah.  Now what?  Well, here's an idea.  Start with more roasted poblano, celery, thyme, oregano, onion, and garlic.

Take about a cup of the chorizo, and fry it up.

Remove, leavin the fat in the pan, and over low heat cook the onions and celery with some cumin.

Add the poblano and garlic, raise the heat, then add white wine and reduce until almost evaporated.

Add white beans (cannelli) and the herbs, and enough chicken stock to loosen it just past a thick stew, but not yet a soup.   Simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Serve with chopped scallions, and the comfort of a job well done.

Sausage Ravioli

For my birthday, I got a KitchenAid mixer with a sausage grinder attachment.  For Xmas, I got a pasta roller attachment.  I hope you can see where this is going.

So, we start with the sausage.  And because I like seeing food purists cringe, I'm going to make chicken sausage.  Chop up some thigh meat.

Combine in a bowl with salt, fennel, red pepper flakes, coriander, garlic, black pepper, and a bit of rendered bacon fat.  You know, because bacon.  

Throw that into the freezer for about half an hour, along with the metal parts of your grinding attachment.  While you're waiting, make the pasta dough.  Start with an equal mix of semolina and all purpose flour.  Make a sort of well in the middle.

Add salt, eggs, water and oil.  Beat with a fork, and slowly, gently, incorporate the flour into the wet mix.

It will get to the point you'll have to use your hands.  Do so.  When all the liquid is absorbed (adding more liquid if too dry, or more flour if too loose; you're looking for barely sticky, but not cracking), wrap in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for an hour.  The point here is to get the gluten really rocking.

Ok, everything in the freezer is cold, and ready to grind.  Just shove the meat down the tube.  It's hard to believe it's that easy.  Yes, I know.  The tough part is casing.  This recipe conveniently calls for crumbled sausage, so I don't have to deal with that.

What we're going to do here is mix this sausage with some ricotta cheese.  Because that sounds weak, we're gonna add some mint, basil, lemon zest, garlic, fish sauce, and mozzerella to the ricotta.

Fry up the sausage!  Let cool, and combine it with the ricotta in a ratio which pleases you.

When the dough is ready, set up the pasta roller, tear off a chunk, and pass it through.  Each pass should be one level thinner.  I stopped at "5", but if you really wanted to, you could go thinner.  I didn't see the need, though.  

Lay the sheets out on a rack, so they don't stick to anything and get gross.  Cut a workable portion, and put a small spoonful of sausage/ricotta mixture on the lower half.  Fold, cut to size, and crimp edges with a fork.

Get your water boiling, add salt, and then cut the heat back a bit.  These things are kind of delicate, so a hard boil might detroy all your work.  More than a simmer, less than a boil.  Add a few ravioli, cook for 3 minutes or so, then remove.

Ok, now for the part you're not going to like: I had been making a marinara this whole time, but because I cribbed it from my mother-in-law, it's sort of a secret.  Just know that it has tomatoes in it, along with some other stuff, and has been simmering for a few hours.  Add a spoonful or two of that to the ravioli, and top with parmesean cheese and fresh basil.