← Nouns Cooking · Spanish

Ingredients

• 500 g dried fabes (or large dried butter beans)
• 200 g cooking chorizo (about 2 sausages), whole
• 200 g morcilla (about 2), whole
• 200 g cured or smoked pork belly (panceta) in one piece
• 200 g lacón or ham hock piece (optional)
• 1 Onion, peeled and halved
• 2 cloves Garlic, peeled (optional)
• 1 pinch large pinch of saffron threads
• 1 tsp sweet paprika (optional)
• Salt

Method

1. The night before, rinse the beans and soak them in plenty of cold water for 12 hours. If your pork belly or ham is very salty, soak it separately at the same time.
2. Drain the beans and put them in a large, wide pot with the chorizo, morcilla, pork belly, ham, onion and garlic. Pour in cold water to cover everything by about 3 cm.
3. Bring slowly to the boil over medium heat, skimming off the foam that rises. As soon as it boils, pour in a small glass of cold water to stop the boil; do this 2–3 times during cooking, as it keeps the bean skins tender.
4. Turn the heat to its lowest setting and simmer very gently, partly covered, for 2 hours. Do not stir, as the beans break; instead, shake the pot by the handles now and then. Top up with a little cold water if the beans peek out.
5. Crush the saffron (and paprika, if using) into a ladle of the broth and stir it back in after the first hour. In the last 30 min, taste the broth and add salt only if needed, since the meats are salty.
6. Lift out the meats and the onion. Slice the sausages and cut the pork into chunks, then return them to the pot. Turn off the heat and rest for 20 min so the broth thickens, then serve in deep bowls with crusty bread.

Tips

• Some chorizo and morcilla contain breadcrumbs or wheat; check the labels if you cook for anyone gluten-free.
• No time to soak? Use 3 tins (400 g each) of butter beans, drained, and simmer the meats for 1 hour first, then add the beans for the last 20 minutes.

Sources

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

The Spanish Chef (Omar Allibhoy) The Local Spain Spain on a Fork