Fabada Asturiana
(Spanish sausage and bean stew)
Image by Juan J. Martínez
Fabada, or fabada asturiana, is a rich, warming stew of beans and sausages that originated in the Asturia region on the northwest coast of Spain. Asturians enjoy it as a hearty midday meal.
The essential ingredients are fabas, a type of large white bean, and two types of sausage — Spanish chorizo and morcillo, a blood sausage. Fabada is traditionally served with cornbread and sidra, a local hard apple cider.
4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
- Dried fabas or cannellini beans, soaked overnight -- 2 cups
- Onions, chopped -- 2
- Salt pork - 1 1/4-pound piece
- Garlic, chopped -- 3 to 4 cloves
- Water -- to cover the beans
- Serrano ham or prosciutto -- 1/2 pound piece
- Spanish chorizo, or other garlic sausages -- 1/2 pound
- Morcilla, or other blood sausages -- 1/2 pound
- Paprika (optional) -- 1 tablespoon
- Saffron (optional) -- a few threads
- Salt and pepper -- to season
Method
- Add the soaked beans (there should be about 4 cups), onions, salt pork and garlic to a large pot and add cool water to cover the beans by about 1 inch. Set the pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 1 hour. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface.
- Add the serrano ham or prosciutto to the beans and simmer for another hour, or until the beans are just starting to get tender.
- Prick the sausages all over with a toothpick and add the sausages, paprika and saffron to the beans. Simmer for another 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Remove the meats from the pot and cut into bite-sized pieces. Return to the pot, heat through and serve with cornbread or crusty bread and sparkling hard cider.
Fabada Asturiana Variations
- If you don't have the exact meats called for, other pork cuts can be substituted: cured pork shoulder, pork belly, country smoked ham, smoked ham hocks, thick-sliced bacon, Italian sausages. You can also substitute Mexican chorizo, but the taste will be different.
