Charcuterie and cured meat is one of the most exciting elements of food culture – where else can you find such a vast cacophony of flavours and textures made with just a handful of ingredients? A lot of that is down to the skill of the producer and their years of experience, and you'll find some of the most accomplished in the world. But while there are hundreds of different cured meats produced in the country, it's chorizo that we use more than anything else.

Full of garlic, paprika, salt and rich pork, chorizo has the ability to infuse any dish with its incredible flavour, gently rendering its bright red oils into sauces or offering up crisp bites of deliciousness. We get through an awful lot of it in the UK for this exact reason – it's so easy to make a dish taste good by just adding some of this magical cured sausage into the pan.

Below you'll find recipes, features and inspiration by the bucketload when cooking with chorizo at home. From simple Spanish dishes to modern, innovative ideas from the UK's best chefs, you're guaranteed to discover new ways of making chorizo the star of the show.

Paul Welburn is one of those chefs who can take an ingredient and showcase it in a whole new way – which is exactly what he does with chorizo in these two fantastic recipes. One is an easy yet inventive take on spring rolls, while the other combines the cured sausage with rabbit – a delicious yet underused product. Give them a go and you'll understand why he's such a well-respected chef.

Whether the sun's shining or you need to stave off the blustery rain and cold of winter, chorizo has your back. Take a look at some of our favourite winter warmers and summer delights above.