Lentejas a la Riojana

Lentejas a la Riojana belong to La Rioja, and the choricero pepper is what gives them their surname. Not just lentils with chorizo. Lentils with the sweet red pulp of dried peppers, a little pimentón, potato to thicken the pot, and the cured pork larder that country kitchens knew how to stretch.

The step that decides the dish is the sofrito, the slow onion base. Cook the onion, leek, carrot, and garlic low until they go sweet and soft before the lentils meet the water. Rush it and you get boiled lentils with chorizo floating in them. Give it time and the broth tastes round before the pot has even begun to simmer.

Use pardina lentils if you can, the small brown lentils that hold their shape and cook without soaking. If you can't find dried choricero peppers, use ñora pepper pulp, or 1 tablespoon of good pimentón dulce de la Vera and accept that the flavor will be smokier and less fruity. No hace falta haber pisado España. You need decent lentils, real Spanish chorizo if you can get it, and patience enough for the pot.

In my Margin beside this one I wrote only this: salt late. Chorizo brings salt, and lentils toughen if you bully them too early. Taste near the end, then decide. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.