Heya everyfur…
It's  Ghosty and I decided to take up the Fall challenge again.
No pumpkin, but instead a classic Spanish dish that is eaten during Fall and Winter seasons:
Patatas y Chorizo a la Riojana or Potato & Chorizo stew, Rioja style.
A rich, hearty, filling, smoky, slightly sour stew that will warm you right up on a cold day.
I've only made it slightly piquant, using mild Chorizo, sweet Pimentón and a dried chili, because I can't eat too spicy food.
But you can make it as hot as like by using spicy Chorizo, hot Pimentón and more dried chilies.
As liquid either water or broth can be used. Personally, I settled for a big pot of homemade chicken stock (with roasted veg, which makes it a bit darker than what I usually use for chicken soup for some extra favor). You can prepare that the day before and just keep it in the fridge.
Let's cook :3

Chicken stock:
- 1 pack of soup greens (carrots, celery, leek, parsley root, parsnip, parsley)
~ 750g chicken (whatever you got. Legs, wings, neck, parts of a boiling hen, as longs as it got bones and skin)
- 2 onions
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 3-4 chestnut mushrooms
- a couple of allspice- and pepper corns
- fresh rosemary and thyme
- Olive oil
(Optional: a splash of wine for deglazing)

Peel carrots, celery, parsley root, parsnip, onions and garlic. Wash and clean the rest of the vegetables and herbs, especially the leek, which can be sandy. Only wipe the mushrooms with a paper towel.
Cut all veggies into chunks, they don't need to be cut very finely.
Don't wash the chicken, you'll just spread the bacteria around this way.
In a large pot heat up some olive oil and start roasting the vegetables until brown residue start forming at the bottom of the pot.
Deglaze with some wine or water.
Now add the chicken, herbs, bay leaves and other spices and fill the pot with cold water until everything is covered.
Bring the liquid to a boil again, turn down the heat and simmer on low heat for several hours.
Use a skimmer to remove the foam that will form during cooking.
After a couple of hours, strain the broth through a sieve. You can filter it through a cheesecloth or paper towel to clarify. The veggies are cooked out and can be thrown away. The chicken is still usable for other dishes or a nice chicken soup.
De-fat the broth with a couple of paper towels, just swipe them over the surface of the broth and it will soak up excessive fat.
Or cool the broth in the fridge for easy removal the next day.


Potato-Chorizo stew:
~ 1kg mealy potatoes (weight after peeling)
- 350g Chorizo
- 2 onions
- 2-3 tomatoes
- 2 red bell peppers
- 5 garlic cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- fresh rosemary, thyme and flat parsley
- 1 heaped tsp Sweet Pimentón
- salt
- olive oil
- vinegar
- 1,5 – 2L of chicken stock or water

Peel onions, garlic and potatoes. Wash bell peppers, tomatoes and herbs.
Cut the garlic cloves and onions into fine slices, the bell pepper into strips and dice the tomatoes.
Pick the leaves of thyme, chop the parsley, leave the rosemary intact.
When cutting the potatoes into chunks, don't cut all the way through. Just use your kitchen knife to cut in a bit, then break off a piece. That way you'll create a lot ragged edges that will release a lot of starch when cooking.
Remove the skin of the Chorizo and cut into thick slices.
In a large pot, heat up a generous dash of olive oil. Add onions and start to fry them, add garlic and bell pepper and continue to fry for about 10 minutes to create a bit of roasting aroma and soften up the veggies.
Add the Chorizo and fry it for a couple of minutes to release fat and flavor into the vegetables.
Put in the potatoes.
Take a heaped tsp of Pimentòn and add it into the pan. The fine smoked paprika powder will burn very easily, so immediately add the diced tomatoes and mix well.
Add 2 tbsp of vinegar for deglazing, add thyme leaves, a small sprig of rosemary, bay leaves and dried chili.
Pour in about 1,5 liters of chicken stock and season with a good pinch of salt.
Bring everything to a boil again, turn down the heat a little and let it simmer for about 30-45 minutes until the potatoes are soft and smaller pieces and the edges of the bigger pieces are starting to break down and the stew thickens.
Give it a stir every now and then.
If too much liquid evaporates, add a bit more broth.
Shortly before serving, add the fresh parsley and mix it in. Remove bay leaves, rosemary and dried chili.
Dress a bit of everything onto a soup plate, add a bit more of the aromatic broth and serve with some nice white bread.
Please enjoy your meal! :)