Fabada Asturiana (Asturian White Bean and Pork Stew)

A rich Asturian stew of white beans with chorizo, black pudding and pork belly.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 8h 15m
Cook: 2h 50m
Total: 11 hours 5 minutes
Vegetarian
❌
Nuts
❌
Serves
6 people
Difficulty
Medium

Ingredients

  • 400g dried large white beans (butter beans or alubias)
  • 2 cooking chorizo, about 200g in total
  • 1 morcilla (Spanish black pudding), about 150g, or British black pudding
  • 300g pork belly, rind removed, cut into 4cm pieces
  • 1 onion, peeled and halved
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
  • A good pinch of saffron strands, about 0.3g
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt to taste

Method

  1. Soak the beans in plenty of cold water for 8 hours or overnight, then drain and rinse.

  2. Put the beans, chorizo, pork belly, onion, garlic, bay leaves, paprika, saffron and oil in a large, lidded pot and cover with cold water by 3cm, about 1.5 litres.

  3. Bring slowly to the boil, skimming off any scum. Reduce to the lowest heat, cover and simmer very gently for 2 hours, shaking the pot occasionally rather than stirring, and adding a splash of cold water if the beans become exposed.

  4. Add the morcilla and cook for a further 30 minutes until the beans are creamy and tender and the broth has thickened. Season with salt only at the end, to taste.

  5. Remove the bay leaves, lift out the chorizo, morcilla and pork, cut into chunks and return to the pot. Rest for 10 minutes and serve in warm bowls.