Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Recipe Snapshot: Chorizo and Manchego Puffs

This past weekend was spent in large part preparing for our annual Oscar party next weekend.  We saw two movies and I tried out two more possible recipes for the party.  This post is about the chorizo and manchego puffs I tried first. (Check back in the next couple of days for PW's stuffed mushrooms.)  I got this recipe from the Food Network website after seeing one of the recruits make it on an episode of Worst Cooks in America a few weeks back.  I figured that if someone considered to be a terrible cook could make these, so could I!


I have a couple of notes about this recipe if anyone else cares to try it. I had trouble filling the puffs with the filling, because my pastry bag isn't a real pastry bag but part of a cake decorating set, so the tips I had were way too small, and little bits of chorizo kept getting stuck.  I ultimately just spooned some filling into the puffs. Also, my husband and I really loved the flavor of the filling, the puffs themselves tasted very eggy, and this sort of distracted from the yummy cheesy chorizo-y center. We have some filling leftover, and I think we'll just eat it on crackers or bread, and enjoy it even more.  I mean, manchego + chorizo + mascarpone = guaranteed deliciousness. Also, if you're not familiar with chorizo, you should know that Spanish chorizo is like a salami--it is already cooked, so it just needs to be cut or minced and added in.  Mexican chorizo is a different meat, and is not cooked.  I found the Spanish kind in the deli section with the fancy cheeses at my local grocery store (same area where I found the manchego and mascarpone).  The recipe explicitly calls for Spanish paprika.  The one I bought is a smoked paprika.  It is totally delicious, and if you can find it, I suggest you use a smoked variety as well.  One last note: these ingredients are expensive.  They are also delicious.  Just make sure that the guests you're feeding are worth the cost of the ingredients.  I know mine are!

Recipe below the cut!

Chorizo and Manchego Puffs, recipe from Anne Burrell via the Food Network site
Serves: 10+ (yield is about 40 puffs).  Time: 40-60 minutes.

Ingredients

for the puffs
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 stick butter, cut into a few pieces
  • Pinch salt
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 8 eggs

for the filling
  • 1 1/4 cups chopped Spanish chorizo sausage
  • 2 1/2 cups mascarpone
  • 1 1/2 cups grated aged manchego cheese
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped chives
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pimenton (Spanish paprika)  
  • Kosher salt

Directions

for the puffs
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Place the water, butter, and salt in a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and stir until the butter melts. Stir in all the flour at once and stir with a wooden spoon. Stir and cook until a dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the pan, 2 to 3 minutes. The mixture will be in a tight ball and not stick to the sides or bottom of the pan.
  3. Remove from the heat and transfer the dough to the bowl of a standing mixer and let cool for 3 or 4 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, making sure the first egg is completely incorporated before continuing. Once all the eggs have been added and the mixture is smooth, turn off the mixer and remove the bowl.
  4. Spoon half the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a round tip. Don't fill the bag completely. Twist the top of the bag so that the dough will not leak out. (To pipe out the dough, gently squeeze out the amount you want, then release.)
  5. On a sheet tray lined with parchment paper, squeeze out 1-inch size dough balls, about 2 inches apart. Form more balls on another sheet pan, if needed.
  6. Place in the oven and bake until they're golden and crispy, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.

for the filling
  1. In a food processor, pulse the chorizo until finely chopped, but not a paste. No large chunks.
  2. Transfer to a bowl, stir in the mascarpone, manchego, pimenton, and chives. Stir until well combined. Taste and add salt, if needed.
  3. Place the filling in another pastry bag outfitted with a small straight tip.
  4. Poke a hole in the side of each puff with the pastry bag tip and gently fill each puff with the filling and serve.
 

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