Asturian Bean Stew (Fabada)

Don’t be tempted to plate with large hunks of meat. The beauty of this dish is that it’s so humble in its makeup yet so flavorful and rich that you don’t need to overcompensate.

Asturian Bean Stew (Fabada)

I used Jose Andrés’ recipe as my guiding principle with a few adjustments of my own. Think of fabada as the Spanish answer to pork and beans. The first time we experienced this dish was on our recent trip to Spain. We had an amazing dinner at El Paraguas, a restaurant specializing in food from the northern territory. They served several types of fabada including one with foie gras, however; we opted for the more traditional version which included chorizo, morcilla (blood sausage), and pork belly. The dish was served table side and was exceptional with a glass of Tempranillo.

Andres’ version calls for ham hock which I chose to leave out. Typically, fresh ham hocks require several hours of cooking to become tender and are hard to cut into small pieces due to the thick layer of skin. Not only that, it’s hard to find non-smoked ham hocks at my local Publix. Therefore, I chose to use bacon and the other traditional meats listed above. The bacon provides a slight smoky flavor which really enhances the dish overall. I highly recommend making this dish for a wintery dinner party and pairing with red Spanish wines.

I don’t find soaking beans overnight to be all that helpful. Yes, if you soak your beans in advance, they will cook faster. I find that when I do soak the beans they tend to lose their texture more quickly when cooked on the stovetop. At most, I find rinsing the beans of any dirt or debris and sorting out the sad looking ones to be the most helpful step. This recipe was written with the assumption that your beans are rinsed, not soaked overnight.

Ingredients for the Fabada

• 1 lbs dried cannelli beans, sorted and rinsed

• 1 head of garlic

• 1 yellow onion, peeled and halved

• 1/2 lbs semi-dry Spanish-style chorizo

• 1/2 lbs semi-dry Spanish-style morcilla

• 1/2 lbs thick cut bacon

• 1/2 lbs pork belly

• 1 tablespoon pimentón (smoked paprika)

• 1 large pinch of saffron threads

• 8-10 cups water

• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Serves 4

Directions for the Fabada

1. Add all of the ingredients to a large Dutch oven. Be sure to cover the meat slightly with the water. Bring everything to a boil and then drop to a low simmer. Cook covered for one and half to two hours. Be sure to check the stew at the hour mark to add more water if needed. My stove tends to run hotter than a glass top stove so I ended up added two more cups of water at this point to get the texture and consistency I like.

2. Remove from the heat once the beans are soft and luscious but maintain their shape. The bacon pieces should have cooked into the beans so it should not need to be sliced.

3. Discard the garlic and onions. Remove the chorizo, morcilla and pork belly from the Dutch oven. Slice into small pieces.

4. Plate each bowl of fabada with a hearty scoop of beans and then place three pieces of each type of meat on top. Serve with a glass of Tempranillo and enjoy!