Haricot beans and chorizo

Beans and chorizo fabada

Help! It’s March but the only white fluffy things leaping outside are snowflakes!  Where are the lambs-it’s just too cold! Temperatures are set to plummet even further so guess we’ll have to eat ourselves warmer this week. This one pot recipe should do the trick. It’s nutritious, cheap and time-saving as the beans expand, so you get a lot of food for your money. It also gets tastier from one day to the next. Nothing better than getting in from work/uni and reheating a bowlful of this scrummy recipe. Bliss!

(This recipe is my own version based on original Spanish recipe which is made with large white beans called  fabes and includes morcilla, a black pudding which is less fatty than the British version.)

Dried beans need soaking overnight (12-24 hours) in order to rehydrate them and make cooking easier. If you forget, simmering them for 3-4 hours in a pan of water will also work. I never salt beans at the start of cooking  as this is supposed to slow down the rate at which they cook but not everyone agrees.
 

 

Haricot beans and chorizo

Prep to Plate: Prep:overnight to soak beans plus 10 mins for rest on the day. Cooking time: 45 mins.

Difficulty: Difficulty level 1

Ingredients

  • 1 pkt haricot beans  (in Spain where this dish originated, larger beans called fabes are used)
  • 2-3 chorizos
  • 250 grams pancetta
  • 1 large potato
  • 1 whole head of garlic
  • 1 tspn Pimentón (or paprika)
  • 1 tbspn powdered vegetable stock
  • saffron (1 teaspoon if powder form or 2-3 threads)
  • bay leaf
  • salt and pepper

Method

  1. Soak beans overnight* in a large bowl with plenty of water as they expand to about twice their size.
  2. Keep the head of garlic whole by removing the white papery outer cover but leave the skin covering the cloves. Chop off the bottom of the head  and place in a large pan.
  3. Sieve beans before  adding them to the pan with the garlic and cover with about two thirds water.
  4. Cook the beans with garlic for 30 minutes.
  5. Then add the chorizo, pancetta, stock and pimentón and cook for one hour at a moderate heat.
  6. Finally add the potato, (cut into two to three large chunks.)
  7. Cook until the beans and potato are soft.
  8. Add salt and pepper to taste.

The flavours of this dish will improve if allowed to “rest” before serving. It will taste even better the next day (and the next.)

© (Suzette McDaniel Don’t Burn The Onions) Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express written consent from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

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