chorizo, broccoli and potato salad

I shocked myself today. No, smart arse, not by standing on the scales or looking in the mirror - although that's just reminded me of the lovely moment in the 1968 movie Targets when Boris Karloff looks in the mirror and scares himself - it was because I was looking through the recipe archive and found that I hadn't ever included this humble but scrumptious offering.

I think the reason is that it's one of those recipes I've never thought to write down, just something I have made regularly for ages. Is it a salad? Well, I eat it when it's either tepid or at room temperature, and it has a dressing (made in the pan rather than separately) so I suppose so.

I'll most often have this with a fried egg on top or (if you want to get fancy) an oeuf mollet (using the method described on this page).

serves one
1 medium floury potato, in chunks
a handful of broccoli florets (about the same volume as the amount of potato chunks)
a splash of olive oil
1 sausage of cooking chorizo, in small chunks
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
½ onion, thinly sliced
1 ripe tomato, chopped
1 dsp capers, rinsed
a blob of dijon mustard
a good splash of red wine vinegar.
salt and black pepper

Cook the potato chunks in boiling water for 5 minutes and drain. Steam or blanch  the broccoli florets for a minute or so and drain. Add a splash of olive oil and the chorizo chunks to a frying pan over a low heat, turning now and again. After about five minutes, the chorizo will have released all its lovely paprika-stained oil into the pan. Remove the chorizo with a slotted spoon. Increase the heat a little bit and fry the garlic and onion until softened. Now add the potato chunks and fry gently until just cooked. Add the broccoli florets and cook until they're taking on a bit of colour. Now add the tomato, capers, mustard and vinegar and give everything a good stir. Allow a minute for the tomato to soften. Season to taste (remembering the chorizo and capers will be quite salty), remove from the heat and allow to cool.