← Nouns Cooking · Spanish

Ingredients

• 250 g dried white beans (alubias), soaked overnight
• 500 g smoked ham hock or a piece of lacón
• 300 g pork spare ribs or backbone
• 50 g unto (cured pork fat) or pancetta (optional)
• 2.5 l Water
• 2 cooking chorizos
• 600 g floury potatoes, peeled
• 400 g grelos (turnip tops), or kale or spring greens, tough stalks removed, roughly chopped
• Salt

Method

1. Drain the soaked beans. Put them in a large pot with the ham hock, ribs, unto or pancetta (if using) and the water. Bring slowly to the boil, skimming off any foam.
2. Lower the heat and simmer gently, partly covered, for 1½ hours, until the beans are almost tender.
3. Add the chorizos and simmer for 15 min. Meanwhile, break the potatoes into rough chunks by cutting part-way and snapping them; the ragged edges thicken the broth.
4. Add the potatoes and greens and cook for 25–30 min more, until the potatoes are soft and starting to collapse. Taste and add salt only now, as the pork is salty.
5. Lift out the hock, ribs and chorizo. Shred the meat from the bones, slice the chorizo and return it all to the pot, or serve the meats on the side. Rest for 10 min before ladling into deep bowls.

Tips

• If the hock is very salty, soak it in cold water overnight alongside the beans.
• Like most bean soups it is even better reheated the next day.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Directo al Paladar Fascinating Spain Ultracomida