Shrimp and Chorizo Flatbreads

A few weeks ago I got it into my head that I was going to make these shrimp skewers with chorizo as an easy dinner for myself. However, when I got to the grocery store I could only find chorizo sliced like pepperoni or ground which would have been impossible to cook on the stovetop while keeping it in a nice roll so that I could slice it for skewers. I bought the prepackaged thin sliced version anyway hoping to still be able to do some sort of skewer.

Then it sat in my fridge for at least a week and last night I finally looked up some recipes to be able to figure out what the heck to do with it since I didn't want it to go to waste and skewers seemed a little far-fetched. The answer? Shrimp and chorizo flatbreads that I found on Pinterest. 

The recipe itself is from Food and Wine and is as follows:

Shrimp and Chorizo Flatbreads

Ingredients

One 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained, 1/4 cup of the juices reserved

 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1. 1 tablespoon honey
2. 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
3. 1 teaspoon chopped thyme
4. 1 small shallot, minced
5. 1 garlic clove, minced
6. 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
7. Pinch of crushed red pepper
8. Salt and freshly ground pepper
9. 1/2 cup prepared hummus
10. 4 pocketless pita breads
11. 1/2 cup thinly sliced chorizo (2 ounces)
12. 1/2 pound shelled and deveined raw medium shrimp, halved lengthwise
13. 1/4 pound Manchego cheese, shredded (1 cup)
14. Directions
15. Preheat the oven to 500° and position a rack in the center. In a medium bowl, mix the drained tomatoes and their reserved juices with the olive oil, honey, vinegar, thyme, shallot, garlic, parsley and crushed red pepper; season with salt and pepper.
16. Spread the hummus on the pita breads and top with the chorizo, shrimp and Manchego. Bake directly on the oven rack for about 4 minutes, or until the shrimp are cooked and the cheese is melted. Transfer the shrimp and chorizo flatbreads to a work surface. Using a slotted spoon, top with the tomato dressing. Quarter the flatbreads and serve at once.
17. Here is the sauce, followed by the cooked flatbread and then the finished product: 
    
18. This is one of my favorite things I have made in a while. The pita bread is whole wheat and stood up well in the oven without getting overcooked; it had the perfect amount of crunch. Chorizo tastes very similar to pepperoni and paired well with the fairly sharp Manchego cheese and the shrimp. You don't need any seasoning on the shrimp because the sauce takes care of it for you. When making the sauce, I definitely recommend that you use fresh herbs, it really does make a difference. If you really wanted to I'm sure you could also use fresh tomatoes but the addition of the thicker juice from the can seemed fairly critical in the dish. The honey gave it just a touch of sweetness, much like adding sugar to pasta sauce. 

This dish will definitely be going into my rotation! 

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