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[quote=Anonymous][b][i]Chorizo-chickpea flatbread[/i][/b]:

1 package (12 or 16 oz) Mexican chorizo (spicy pork sausage).  
1 can of chick peas (garbanzo beans)
1 small bunch of cilantro (or half of a big bunch)
1 small container of plain yogurt
1 package of pita bread (If anyone is gluten-free, some places (like Lilit Cafe in Bethesda) have really good gluten-free pitas in the freezer case.)  
Half a small onion (any color--yellow, white, red, or sweet)
a couple of small or medium limes

Two large skiillets (10" or 12"), or one large skillet and one baking sheet
One wooden or bamboo long-handled scraper or spoon
One potato masher if you have it, if not you can use the spoon
One cutting board
One sharp knife--can use a paring knife or a chef's knife, whichever you're comfortable with.

Mexican chorizo is the sausage that is raw in the casing.  It's different from Spanish chorizo, which is cured and solid.  (i.e., if you cut Spanish chorizo, you get coin-shaped pieces of meat. If you cut into the casing of Mexican chorizo, you get raw, crumbled spicy meat, and the casing can be slipped off.  That's the one you want.)

1.  Rinse the limes.  Chop each one in half, then place each half face-down and cut it cross-ways into four wedges. (Or if the limes are gigantic, into six wedges.)  Keep two wedges for your cilantro/yogurt sauce.  The rest are for serving at the table.

2.  Rinse the cilantro and pat dry with a paper towel.  Cut the ends off the stems and discard.  (Hold the whole bunch together and do this with one cut at the bottom of the stems.) Chop most of the leafy part of the bunch and put in a small serving bowl.  This will be garnish at the table.  Chop the rest of the leafy part and the stems, and put in a slightly bigger bowl you can mix in.  Add about half the yogurt, and squeeze in the juice of two lime wedges. Stir well and taste.  If it's not liquidy enough, add more yogurt.  If that's still not liquidy enough, add a tiny bit of water (though you shouldn't really have to.)  If it tastes too plain, squeeze in the juice from a third lime wedge.

3.  Chop the onion into fine pieces.  Set aside in a small bowl.

3.  Pre-heat a large skillet to medium.  If it's cast iron or stainless steel, let it preheat for 4-5 min. so it's good and hot, then add a small swirl of canola or vegetable oil (not olive oil) and swirl or spread it around.  If the skillet is nonstick, then you can't cook it empty, so just bring it up to temperature for a minute or two before you add the meat, and use less or no oil.

4.  With a sharp knife tip, cut through the casing down the length of each chorizo sausage.  Peel the casing off the meat, discard the casing, and add the now-loose meat to the skillet.  Put the cutting board or plate that had the raw sausage in the sink or dishwasher so nothing else can get cross-contaminated on the raw-meat plate or board.

5.  Brown the chorizo in the skillet.  Use a wooden or bamboo spoon or scraper to break the meat into crumbles as it browns.

6.  While the meat is browning, open the can of chickpeas.  Using the lid to keep the chickpeas from falling out, pour off the water from the can.

7.  Also preheat a second pan to heat the pita bread.

(a) The easiest way is to lay out the pitas on a baking sheet, preheat the oven to 375, and put them into the oven WITH A TIMER FOR FIVE MINUTES so they don't dry out or burn.

(b) An alternate way (the best way, but it's optional and requires more multitasking attention) is to preheat a second skillet (preferably cast-iron) to medium-hot, and heat the pitas up one by one on the dry skillet, flipping each one once to get some brown spots on each side.  Really good quality pitas will puff up as you do this.  Ideally your pita-heating skillet is cast iron.  If it's nonstick, then you have to work quickly, making sure there's always a pita in the pan so you're not just cooking the nonstick coating of an empty pan.  Ideally you're not doing this with a stainless-steel skillet; if stainless is all you have then preheat it and add a little oil AFTER IT'S HOT (never put oil in a cold pan) to keep the pitas from sticking.  This will give you little crispy-fried brown spots on the pitas a little bit.

(c) A third option would be to heat the pitas in the toaster. You want them hot with some brown spots, but not blackened burn marks.

6.  When the chorizo (which has been browning all this time, with your occasional stirring and breaking up) is all crumbled and browned, add the chickpeas to the meat in the skillet.  Then mash the chickpeas, and stir them into the meat.  This is most easily done with a potato masher.  If you don't have a potato masher, you can just use the big spoon or scraper.  When it's mixed and hot, turn off the skillet and oven.  Taste the meat mixture.  The chorizo supplies the spice and flavor--you shouldn't need salt, pepper, or hot sauce. You can usually use the mixture as is.  If it's too spicy, or if it's too chunky and you like a smoother mixture, you can optionally add a little bit of water to the skillet and stir it in to smooth the mixture out.

7.  You can either put the meat mixture into a serving bowl and take everything to the table, or you can plate these at the stovetop/counter.  For each plate, put one pita bread on it, then spoon on enough meat/chickpea mixture to cover the middle of the pita, out to about 1" from the edge (like a small pizza).  At the table, each person can top their own with their preferred amount of cilantro/yogurt sauce, chopped onion, and leafy cilantro garnish.  Some people like to pick the flatbreads up with their hands; if you use a fork and knife you may need a steak knife if you were griddling the pitas and they toughened up on the bottom.

8.  You can serve with spinach or a green salad on the side, or just serve the flatbreads by themselves as a one-course meal.

9.  Ice cream or popsicles go well after the spicy sausage.[/quote]

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