Fabada Asturiana is classic Spain cooking the simplest and best. This stew of creamy white beans cooked slowly -da with pork and cured meat is traditionally made Fabes de la granja (o Judion beans), Morcilla (Spanish Black Puding), Chorizo and Lacón (healing pork shoulders, and similar to Pancetta); It is also the perfect dish for the use of residual roasted pork.
Fabada Asturiana, or smoky pork and bean stew
Meat seeds are full of incompatible taste and nutrition, so I always save them, along with cooking juices and fats, in the freezer to create dishes like this glorious Spanish stew – leftover bones -but, chop bones, ham hocks or roasted pork shoulders, together with any fat, everything will work well here.
In 2016, I went to a Fiesta de Matanza In northern Spain with my friend, the cook Oliver Rowe – the term translates literally to “The Slaughter Festival”, and it is an annual village event where a pig is killed and killed from nose to tail . While it is admittedly a bit gory and hard to watch, however a polite, community -focused ritual that helps people connect to the source of their food, and just the trials of witnessing showed me deeply in how I want to live and eat.
Fresh, honest ingredients, grow locally and maintain, taste the right – vibrant, delicious and alive. On the contrary, mass -made foods, which are designed primarily for shelf life rather than enjoyment, are often stripped of many nutritions and many of their taste. By adopting root-to-fruit principles, I found myself eating better, wasting less and rediscovering the joy of real good food-dishes like fabada, where each substance is respected and celebrated.
Serving 4
500g dried white beans – For example, Fabes de la granja, cannellini or butter beans
Residue roasted pork (seeds, fat and meat)or the remnants of cooked pork chops, or leftover cooked knuckle or ham hock bone, or any surviving roasted pork bones
100g Pancettaor bacon (optional)
100g morcillaor black pudding (optional)
2 Chorizos in cookingor 100g dried chorizo, cut (optional)
1 onionpeeled and split
4 large cloves of garlicPeeled
1 tbsp smoker or sweet paprika
4 tbsp olive oil
Some Safron strands (Optional)
Soak the beans in cold water overnight. The next day, drain, then place in a pot and add fresh cold water to cover them about 4cm. Nestle Any saved residual pork, fat and bone in the middle of the beans, then do the same with other optional pigs, such as a piece of each pancetta (or bacon Lardon) and Morcilla (or black pudding), and the whole chorizos of cooking (or sliced dry chorizo).
Add the onion, garlic, paprika and olive oil, then slowly until a boil. Down the heat to a simmer, skip any bubble, then leave to cook gently for an hour to an hour and a half, until the beans are soft; If necessary, add a splash of cold water if necessary to maintain the liquid just above the beans.
When the beans are soft, grind the saffron, if using, to a mortar (or simply add the stamens to the pot altogether), then cook on a very low heat for another 30 minutes. Time to taste, then cover and leave to rest for up to an hour. Raise the meat, including any fat, cut into pieces of bite size, stir back into the beans and serve a hot leader of an influx of great olive oil and crusty bread beside.
