Pasta Salad with Chorizo

This is a a light and tasty summer salad that goes with outdoor eating of any kind.

250 g of cooked pasta
250 g cherry tomatoes, quartered
100 g chorizo, halved length-ways, sliced and sautéed, drained on kitchen paper
fresh parsley, chopped
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp sherry vinegar
freshly ground black pepper
a touch of sea salt
1 tsp Dijon mustard (optional)

1. Mix the olive oil, vinegar, pepper, a little salt and Dijon into a dressing.
2. Mix in the pasta, tomatoes and chorizo.
3. Leave at room temperature for a couple of hours.
4. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

Variation:
Add one or two 250 g bundles of pan-fried green asparagus.

Lambs Lettuce with Sautéd Mushrooms

Just came home from 5 days in Berlin that envolved a lot of eating and drinking. So for now, it's salad days!

Serves 2 as lunch/supper or 4 as a starter.

100 g lambs lettuce
250 g mushrooms, sliced
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
vinaigrette

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the mushrooms when hot. Fry over a high heat http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifuntil golden all over and season with pepper and salt.

2. Meanwhile wash and spin the lambs lettuce and arrange on plates. Drizzle with a little vinaigrette.

3. Sprinkle with the hot mushrooms and serve immediately.

Variation:
If you're worried about the fat content, mix the juice of a lemon, pepper and salt and drizzle over the lettuce instead of the vinaigrette,