Recipe SWAT Team: Chorizo

Each week our editorial team tackles a new ingredient with one goal in mind: creating easy and delicious dishes. Check here on Monday for the weekly ingredient and look for our recipes on Thursday. Feel free to join us in our endeavor; we look forward to seeing what fantastic meals you come up with. Ours are below:

This week: Chorizo

After creating these recipes, we've come to this conclusion: Chorizo just makes everything a little bit better. It's an invaluable ingredient for adding depth and flavor to dishes like macaroni and cheese, cooked vegetables, or sandwiches. Made with pork, chorizo typically comes in two forms: fresh (Mexican chorizo) or cured and made with smoked pork (Spanish chorizo). Both are seasoned with garlic, chiles, and varying types of spices, which gives them their unique character and flavor. Smoked paprika is often used in Spanish chorizos to give it a deep, red color and powerful taste.

You can substitute other hard, cured meats like salami or pepperoni when a recipe calls for dry or Spanish chorizo. Other sausages can be used for fresh chorizo, which is best used for grilling or crumbling (once removed from the casing). Cured or fresh, because you're using meat that is already seasoned, make sure to taste your dish while cooking before adding additional spices.

 Molly Aronica: Chorizo Mac and Cheese

Allison Beck: Sweet Figs and Chorizo with Lentils and Caramelized Onions

Arthur Bovino: Mom's Savory Dutch Baby with Chorizo

Maryse Chevriere: Fancy Potato Skins with Chorizo

Yasmin Fahr: Spicy Chorizo and Rainbow Chard 'Stir Fry' with Pearled Couscous

Jess Kapadia: Tortilla Española de Chorizo

Geri Salmon: Choripán

Rachel Tucker: Chorizo Stew with Chickpeas, Spinach, and Lemon