Some Spanish tapas dishes - chorizo and chickpeas and smoky chicken skewers.

So I figured I'd take a break from the auld Christmas foods and switch back to more everyday fare for today. Everyday, but still yummy. And in case you're disappointed in the break from Christmas cooking, I'll sweeten the bargin and offer you two recipes! There! arn't I such a nice person? (yes is the answer to the question). 
While I was having nervous palpitations yesterday as the pudding was boiling, I got a harried phone call from my mother asking for me to come up with something for dinner. She was toying with the idea of getting a Chinese take away..but I wasn't so keen. They have there place, but the sodium just isn't worth it. A takeaway once in a blue moon is good enough for me. So..come up with something quick and easy that wouldn't distract from the all important pudding. 
During the summer, I was in Spain for a friends wedding. It was my first time  on the Spanish mainland and I was looking forward to the food. All I had to go on properly was the magnificent Keith Floyd and his 'Floyd on Spain' series which made the Spanish food look truly amazing. FYI if you've never seen Floyd, look him up on YouTube..an absolute legend and one of the best TV cooks I've ever seen.

The food, was, as I had suspected, fantastic. And really good value. Even ''expensive'' restaurants were resonable and I had fell in love by the time I left. (not literally you understand..just metaphorically). I also developed a greater appreciation for Spanish cheeses, which, up to this point I had kind of ignored in favour their French counterparts. 

 There are no Spanish restaurants in the town I'm from and tapas is still only really spreading west of the Shannon. It's getting there..slowly but surely. While we're on the subject, if anyone knows why green olives aren't as nice here as they are in Spain could you let me know? Black olives taste roughly the same, but green olives are actually so much nicer in Spain than here. It's bemusing. 
Anyway, once I got back from Spain I took with gusto to cooking Spanish food. Particularly tapas dishes and I really liked that way of eating. It can be time consuming if you're making lots of different dishes but is definitely worth the effort. 

These two dishes however are not time consuming and taste gorgeous. Exactly what was called for after a stressful day for the whole household (ok...I probably shouldn't get so worried about a pudding but there was a hell of a lot of fruit and alcohol in there..I wasn't about to let them go to waste).

The first dish is a simple mixture of chorizo and chickpeas.

you will need;
1tbsp olive oil
125g sliced chorizo
50ml medium dry sherry (I used maderia)
400g chickpeas (drained and rinsed)

1. Heat the olive oil in a pan over a medium high heat , then add the sliced chorizo.

2.Fry for 10 minutes until crisp then pour in the alcohol and bubble until the chorizo has a sticky, sweet glaze.
3.Add the chickpeas along with another splash of alcohol.

4. Simmer for 5 mins and season with salt and pepper and serve. 

The second dish, is a simple chicken skewer with a delicious smoky marinade and complements the previous dish perfectly.

you will need:
3 large chicken fillets, cubed
2tbsp olive oil
1tsp fennel seeds, crushed
1tsp ground cumin
1tsp sweet smoked paprika
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1tsp red wine vinegar

to serve: Aioli (Garlic mayonnaise)

1.You will need about 6 or 7 sekwers. If they are wooden ones, soak in water for about 10 minutes. 

2. Put all the marinade ingredents into a large bowl, add the chicken and toss. You can do this a day in advance. 
3.Thread the chicken onto the sekwers. Pour some olive oil onto a griddle pan. Get the pan hot. Grill about 4-5 minutes on each side. 

4. Serve with the chickpeas and aioli.