Ingredients
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400 g butter beans
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200 g chorizo sausage
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100 g blood sausage
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1 pcs pork knuckle smoked and dried
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1 pcs onion peeled roughly chopped
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4 pcs Garlic cloves chopped
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a pinch saffron
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3 pcs Bay leaves
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1 tablespoon paprika
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1 teaspoon Salt
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a pinch Black pepper
Directions
What is Fabada Asturiana?
Spaniards call it simply fabada. Fabada Asturiana is a delicious bean stew prepared using fabes de la granja, large white beans, simmered with smoked ham, and a variety of cured pork. What makes it truly a fabada are the unique fabes beans native to the Asturias.
Preparing fabada takes a lot of patience if you want the uniquely rich texture to be pleasant on your taste buds. The fabes should be soaked overnight before cooking. However, the fabada Asturiana recipe is pretty simple to follow to give you a creamy, delicate flavor.
Fabada Asturiana Vs. Cassoulet
As a gourmet, you’ve heard and probably tasted the French cassoulet. Well, you’ll be amazed by its Northwestern Spanish cousin, fabada Asturiana.
Cassoulet is a slowly cooked French delicacy prepared with meat and white beans called haricots blancs native to Southern France. Fabada asturias recipe is different from that of cassoulet in that it uses pre-soaked fabes de la granja beans.
However, these two delicacies share a lot of similarities. Cassoulet uses either pork, beef, or duck confit. It can also use other meats, such as mutton. Fabada also uses pork
What can you serve with Fabada Asturiana?
Fabada Asturiana is a heavy dish often served hot, so most Spaniards love it for the winters. Fabada is a complete meal on its own and usually taken during lunchtime. However, some Spanish cuisine enthusiasts love to eat fabada as a starter before their main course.
Fabada is served in wide and shallow bowls and topped with slices of morcilla, chorizo, and pancetta. If you choose to enjoy fabada as your main course, you can serve it with a glass of red wine or Asturian cider.
The origin
Fabada Asturiana recipe traces its origin back to the 16th century when fabes consumption started gaining popularity in Asturias. The bean has different varieties, but fabes de la granja is the preferred variety for preparing this signature dish.
Fabes de la granja (bean of the farm) is a smooth buttery variety, making it ideal for fabada Asturiana. This bean variety is one of the rarest in Spain, the reason why fabada is a special kind of meal. You’re not likely to find fabes easily, unless in Spanish cuisine restaurants and canned foods.
Fabada Asturiana recipe is not only a popular Spanish and signature dish of Asturiana, but it has grown in popularity to be adopted by other regions. The Colombians call their variant bandeja paisa, and it is a favorite in many households, often served in a large platter.
The city of Tampa in Florida also follows an almost similar recipe to prepare their variety of fabada. Often referred to as Spanish bean soup, it uses garbanzo beans, potatoes, pork, ham bone, and Spanish sauages. The beans are also soaked overnight to give the delicacy its creamy texture.
Fabada is an authentic Spanish delicacy that you need to try out at home. If you can’t find the fabes de la granja, you can substitute it with any other large white beans in your fabada Asturiana recipe.
Steps
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1
Done
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Soak the beans in water and leave overnight. You can use I canned kidney been as well. Then the cooking process is much shorter and does not require the next step. |
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2
Done
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Rinse and drain the beans. Put the beans in a large cooking pot, pour twice as much water over the beans and let it cook for 1-1.5 hours until the beans are tender. |
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3
Done
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While the beans are cooking put the pork knuckle in another pot to cook for about the same time as the beans. When it is cooked, take it out of the water and cut it into larger pieces. |
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4
Done
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After one hour, remove the water in which the beans were cooked and pour in fresh, cold water. Bring to a boil and add the pork hoax, chorizo, onion, garlic, saffron, salt, black pepper, paprika and bay leaves and let it cook for another half of an hour. |
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5
Done
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When the beans and meat are cooked, add the black sausage as well. Remove the onion and garlic. Let it cook for a few more minutes. Before serving, take out the sausage and chorizo and cut them into slices. |
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6
Done
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That is it, Fabada Asturiana is done. Serve with bread and red wine. |
