Tapas night in 45 minutes

I had a "what shall we have for tea" night last night. The kids were at mums and The Man at football so I had a tinker about and came up with this, made entirely of storecupboard things and fridge staples (ok the chorizo was a lucky find!)

Chorizo and Red Pepper casserole

Fry 1 sliced onion in olive oil, add 2 crushed garlic cloves and a sliced chorizo sausage (about 6-inch piece). Then add 2 small red peppers, cut into chunks, and 1/2 teaspoon of chilli powder. Then addd a splash of port (red wine would be fine) and bubble for a minute or two before stirring in a tin of chopped tomatoes (reserve about a fifth for the potato dish) and season, adding chopped fresh parsley if you have it. Empty into a lidded casserole dish and cook at 175 for 30 minutes.

Patatas Bravas

Wipe the pan and fry a quarter of an onion in olive oil. Stir in 1/2 tsp chilli powder and the rest of the tin of chopped tomatoes plus salt and pepper. Set aside for reheating later. Wipe out pan and add a little olive oil and a couple of potatoes which have been cubed into 1cm pieces, skins on. Sautee on a low heat for around 15 minutes then stir in some garlic butter (butter, crushed garlic, chopped parsley, s&p). Serve with the chilli tomato spooned over.

Saffron rice

While the potatoes are cooking add a teaspoon of unflavoured oil to a lidded pan. Add some chopped green beans or frozen peas, a quarter of an onion finely chopped and a teeny pinch of saffron, and 100ml (by volume) of rice. Toss in the oil then add 200ml of boiling water and a pinch of salt. Stir once and cover, cook on a very low simmer for 15 minutes.

Fragrant veg

Chop half and onion, slice a courgette and some mushrooms. Cook in a little oil until softened then add a splash of white wine and some thyme, plus s&p. Cook for a few minutes until most of the liquid has gone then pop a lid on the pan while you are serving everything up.

Put everything into little dishes and serve with crusty bread or garlic bread.

I was going to take a photo but we ate it all! (The leftover chorizo dish went on baked potatoes for a filling lunch!)