Bocadillo de Chorizo

Bocadillo de chorizo is Castilian in this version, made with chorizo de Cantimpalos from Segovia or another firm cured chorizo from the central tablelands. It is not a dressed sandwich. It is bread and cured sausage, and the thing that makes it work is the fat stained red with pimentón, the smoked paprika that gives chorizo its colour and smell.

You can eat the chorizo raw, thinly sliced, and many homes do. But for this bocadillo I warm it briefly in a dry pan, just until it shines and loosens a little red oil. Do not fry it hard. If the slices curl, darken, and turn leathery, you have cooked the pleasure out of them. The bread should catch that oil, not drown in it.

If you are far from Spain, look for a dry-cured Spanish-style chorizo with pimentón, not soft Mexican chorizo, which is a fresh sausage and a different thing entirely. Portuguese chouriço is the closest useful substitute; it is usually a little smokier and firmer, so slice it thinner and warm it less. No hace falta haber pisado España. Buy the right sausage, use good bread, and keep your hands off it. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.