Chorizo and Potato with Cheese (Chorizo con Patatas y Queso) – A Spanish Tapas Recipe
This Spanish tapas recipe for chorizo and potato with cheese is one my daughter raved about and re-created when she came back from her latest trip to Barcelona. It was a hit with everyone who tasted it!
Originally published June 30, 2019.
Today, my daughter, Denisa, is guest-posting for me. She often helps me with my cooking, photography, and behind the scenes work on my site, so I’m handing her the reins for this chorizo and potato with cheese recipe. This is all about a tapas recipe she’s obsessed with; yes, she’s obsessed after going to Barcelona!
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Take it away, Denisa!
¡Hola! Welcome to lesser-known, non-alliterative Denisa’s Cucina! It’s typical that the one recipe I get to post on my mom’s site is one that you can’t really mess up, but I promise, I can cook!
You might think that my mother is the food and travel expert here, but did you know that her latest excursion to Portugal was inspired by a 30 euro Ryanair flight taken by Yours Truly?
A wee bird named Denisa might also have also spurred someone’s Aperol Spritz obsession while in Italy. I believe a Copenhagen or Prague trip is in the works next, since these are the only places that I have been, but my mother has not.
She’s not competitive at all, and you didn’t hear that from me. But this is gossip for another time, or another page (anyone interested in a “Behind the Scenes of Christina’s Cucina” page? Let me know in the comments)!
Discovering the chorizo and potato tapa.
Anyway, back to this chorizo and potato with cheese tapa. This recipe was inspired by a tiny, though popular tapas restaurant in the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona. I debated whether or not to share the name on here, as I want it to stay a hidden gem for my next visit (already planning). However, I decided that it was too good to not let people know about it because they deserve all the business they get!
If you go to Barcelona, do not miss El Xampanyet and be sure to order this chorizo and potato tapa!
This place was not only delicious, but also very reasonably priced and the wait staff was very nice and accommodating to our broken Spanish.
Although my friends and I try to be adventurous in our food excursions while traveling, we decided that this place was too good to pass up for another restaurant which might not have as great tasting tapas for a higher price.
So, in our six days in Barcelona, we came back not once, but twice. We are also now friends with our all-star waiter, Achilles, on Facebook (he gave us some extra Cava). If that ain’t a recommendation, I don’t know what is.
Love cheese and potatoes? Check out these raclette potato appetizers! And learn about raclette, too!
By the third time we showed up at El Xampanyet, we were pros, and waited outside the door before it re-opened at 7pm, as we knew how crowded the small bar would get within even the first 10 minutes. If you’re familiar with memes, please enjoy this gem that my friend Kyle made.
So it seems like I have my mother’s gift for blethering (Scottish term – look it up), so let’s get down to business for real this time.
Chorizo and Potatoes with Cheese
(Chorizo con Patatas y Queso)
Recipe by Denisa Renata makes 4-6 servings
measurements are not critical in this recipe FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
You will need escalivada, a Spanish roasted vegetable dish which you can make ahead of time. Otherwise, you can roast the vegetables in the oven on another tray while the potatoes are roasting. Essentially, escalivada is roasted green and red pepper, onion and eggplant, then peeled, sliced thinly and tossed with salt and olive oil. This is part of the topping for the potatoes.
Cook the potato slices.
Slice potatoes evenly, about ¾ ” thick.
Drizzle approximately 1 tablespoonful of olive oil on the baking tray, then arrange potato slices to fill it (you can use a brush or your fingers to spread oil).
Brush another tablespoonful of olive oil on top of the potatoes, and place in the oven for approximately 30 to 40 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked.
Make the toppings while the potatoes are in the oven.
Deconstruct half of a Spanish style chorizo sausage by peeling the casing off and mincing the sausage into tiny pieces.
Pour about a teaspoon of olive oil into a sauté pan. Over medium heat, fry the chorizo sausage for about 2 or 3 minutes, just until browned.
Meanwhile, heat the cream in a small pot, then add the grated or sliced Manchego over medium-low heat, stirring constantly.
When the cheese has completely melted, remove from heat. (It should only take about 5 minutes).
The potatoes should be ready by now!
Assemble the Chorizo and Potato tapas.
It’s time to construct the tapas! You can leave the potatoes on the tray and assemble them there, however, I’m going to show you how I make them on a plate, though.
Spoon some of the cream and manchego mixture evenly on each potato slice.
Next, add some of the escalivada.
Finally, top with some chorizo. They’ll look something like this!
Serve the chorizo and potato with cheese with other tapas!
Serve with pan con tomate, patatas bravas, Spanish tortilla, a cheese plate and some jamón! A glass of sangria or Spanish Cava won’t hurt, either.
This chorizo and potato tapa is not glamorous, but it is so easy and tasty, and is extremely difficult to mess up.
Even though this doesn’t look exactly like the one we had at El Xampanyet, it definitely tastes scarily similar to it! So have a friend (or ten) over and enjoy! Or just book a flight to visit Barcelona, whatever works.
Kyle, Kelly, & me at El Xampanyet
Edited November 2019: Christina here! Mum and I were in Barcelona last month and guess where we went to eat?! Yep, El Zampanyet! Here are some photos of what we had, including the potatoes with chorizo and cheese!
The original chorizo and potato with cheese in front of El Xampanyet.
Let me know in the comments if you make this tapa, it’d make my day!
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Chorizo and Potato with Cheese (Patatas con Chorizo y Queso) - A Spanish Tapas Recipe
Ingredients
Escalivada:
- 1 small onion (roasted)
- 1 small eggplant (roasted)
- 1 small red pepper (roasted)
- 1 small green pepper (roasted)
- ½ Tbsp olive oil
- ⅛ tsp salt
Patatas con Chorizo y Queso:
- 4 medium potatoes (sliced, enough to cover baking tray)
- 3 oz chorizo sausage
- 3 Tbsp olive oil (put 1 Tbsp aside for pan frying)
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup Manchego cheese (grated)
- ⅛ tsp salt (Kosher or sea salt, to taste)
- ⅛ tsp pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- You will need escalivada, a Spanish roasted vegetable dish which you can make ahead of time. Otherwise, you can roast the vegetables in the oven on another tray while the potatoes are roasting. Essentially, escalivada is roasted green and red pepper, onion and eggplant, then peeled, sliced thinly and tossed with salt and olive oil. This is part of the topping for the potatoes.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Slice potatoes evenly, about ¾" (2 cm) thick.
- Drizzle approximately 1 tablespoonful of olive oil on the baking tray, then arrange potato slices to fill it (you can use a brush or your fingers to spread oil).
- Brush another tablespoonful of olive oil on top of the potatoes, and place in the oven for approximately 30 to 40 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked.
- While the potatoes are in the oven, deconstruct half of a chorizo sausage by peeling the casing off and mincing the sausage into tiny pieces.
- Pour about a teaspoon of olive oil into a saute pan. Over medium heat, fry the chorizo sausage for about 2 or 3 minutes, just until browned.
- Meanwhile, heat the cream in a small pot, then add the grated or sliced Manchego over medium-low heat, stirring constantly.
- When the cheese has completely melted, remove from heat. (It should only take about 5 minutes). The potatoes should be ready by now!
- It’s time to construct the tapas! You can leave the potatoes on the tray and assemble them there, however, I'm going to show you how I make them on a plate, though.
- Spoon some of the cream and manchego mixture evenly on each potato slice. Next, add some of the escalivada. Finally, top with some chorizo. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Inspiration taken from the following recipes: http://www.sacaelcucharon.com/2015/05/patatas-rellenas-de-chorizo-y-queso.html and https://www.petitchef.es/recetas/plato/las-patatas-rellenas-de-chorizo-de-mi-abuela-fid-1379541
Nutrition
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I have been cooking food from Sicily non stop and then two days ago a made excalivada from Barcelona. I will make these potatoes tonight. I also cooked fricandó. Amazing cuisine!!!!
I’m going to try the potatoes and Chorizo tapas. Looks delicious —and pretty. Can you share a pasta fagiole recipe. When in Italy, We tried some in each place we visited— all good—- all different. My mother’s people are Calabrian, so hers was different still.
Yes, just search pasta e fagioli here on my page :)
Thank you so much for this. I have been to this tapas restaurant many times on 4 trips to Barcelona and this is my favourite fish, washed down with the delicious house cava in those cute glasses. Will try this soon.
Awesome! Isn’t it a great restaurant? So glad you found the recipe! Enjoy!
Christina, I LOVE this post and must’ve missed it in 2019. Denisa is a great writer — and fun, too! I have an affinity for all things Spanish. I lived in Madrid for a year, many moons ago, and have very close friends there who we visit whenever we can, and we travel the country with them when we do. This particular Tapa looks and sounds absolutely fabulous — it’s mouth-watering! I must give it a go! Thank you, Denisa! :-) ~Valentina
What sausage brand did you use? And it may be useful to stress that Spanish chorizo differs from the chorizo commonly used in the US in Mexican inspired dishes.
Good point, Lorna. I just added a link to the post and specified, Spanish style. Thanks! affiliate link: chorizo sausage.