Spanish Chorizo with Fig

Spanish chorizo and fig, who would have thought, the combination of the spicy chorizo and sweet fig is an absolute experience for your palette. The first time I ever ate this amazing delight was at a tapas restaurant in New Haven, Connecticut. I so enjoyed it that I started taking mental notes of what the ingredients were. Chorizo and fig obviously; but it was the ”lacquer” on the sausage that had me guessing how it was made. I love to experiment with food so I tried different combinations of ingredients until I found the right balance. Is it the same as the restaurant in New Haven, probably not, but the taste does come close to it. Now start cooking.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 lb. chorizo (I use the Portuguese brand Cortez Special) diagonal cut

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 small red onion

½ cup of red wine

½ cup of sherry vinegar (balsamic works well too)

½ cup of sugar

1 ½ cups of dried figs (I use the mission figs) cut into halves

1 stick cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg (Not the ground kind)

Instructions:

• In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté, add the 3 cloves of garlic and sauté for a few minutes, careful not to let the garlic burn. Add the chorizo and stir for a few more minutes.

• Add the ½ cup sugar to the chorizo mix and stir being sure that the chorizo is completely covered in sugar.

• Add the ½ cup of red wine, ½ cup of sherry vinegar, 1 ½ cups of the dried figs, 1 cinnamon stick and 1 tsp. nutmeg. Mix all ingredients, heat to simmer and let cook for about 30 minutes. The sauce will reduce and form a glaze for the chorizo and figs.

• You can serve it immediately or if you choose to make it ahead and serve it at a later time you can always reheat it, this will not change the texture or flavor.