There is nothing more comforting when winter comes around than a heaping bowl of fabada Asturiana, a delicious white bean and chorizo stew typical of northern Spain (Asturias). A typical Spanish fabada recipe includes huge white beans, called fabes, and what I like to call "the holy trinity"-- morcilla (blood sausage), chorizo (paprika spiced sausage), and tocino (pork belly). These ingredients are often sold together in one vacuum sealed package, making preparation even easier.
For years I was scared of making fabada. I thought that this Spanish stew must take hours to prepare. But then I found my go-to quick Spanish fabada recipe, and now I make this for a quick and hearty winter meal whenever the craving strikes!
The key to making a quick fabada is having pre-cooked fabes. If you can't find these large white beans where you live, you can substitute high-quality cannellini beans, which are smaller but still delicious. And of course, if you do have time, soak dried beans for an even better fabada Asturiana (I never remember to do this, thus my dilemma in the first place!).
Here is my favorite quick Spanish fabada recipe, resulting in a hearty and delicious fabada Asturiana in a fraction of the time!
Quick Spanish Fabada Recipe - Delicious White Bean & Chorizo Stew
Ingredients
- Approx. 400g 15oz of large white beans (when drained and rinsed)
- 1 small link of sweet semi-cured Spanish chorizo note: this is not completely raw chorizo. If that's all you can get, you'll have to sear it before using. Also, it's not literally sweet, but rather made with sweet versus spicy paprika.
- 1 small link of spicy semi-cured Spanish chorizo
- 1 small link of Spanish semi-cured blood sausage morcilla
- 100 g ¼ lb of cured pork belly (pancetta or tocino)
- 1 large carrot
- 1 small potato
- 1 small onion
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 clove of garlic smashed (but not minced)
- 600 ml 2.5 cups of water (or ham stock if you have it!)
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Peel and dice the onion, potato, and carrot.
- If using completely fresh meats (ideally you can find the semi-cured ones we use here in Spain), you'll have to sea them on all sides.
- If using the semi-cured meats, poke the sausages with a fork so that the casing doesn't burst once cooking.
- Put the meats and vegetables into a large pot, along with the smashed garlic clove and bay leaf.
- Cover the ingredients with water (or stock) and bring to a boil.
- Lower the heat to a rapid simmer, and cook for about 15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
- Drain and rinse the beans in a strainer and reserve (don't add yet).
- Take out the meats and put on a plate. Discard the garlic clove and bay leaf.
- Blend the vegetables and broth to create a thick soup. Season with salt if necessary.
- Cut up the meats into bite-sized chunks and add them back to the broth.
- Add the beans and cook everything together over a slow heat for about five minutes.
- Enjoy immediately, or serve later for even more flavor!
Nutrition
Easy, quick and delicious! This Spanish fabada recipe is a version of the famous fabada Asturiana that I love making at home. Let me know how it turns out!
Pin me!
Jose
Sorry Lauren Aloise, I put here, a video of the fabada of the restaurant from Asturias, which won in 2011, 2017 best fabada in the world,.
https://www.casachema.com/noticias-blog/136-la-mejor-fabada-del-mundo-en-where-is-asturias
Jose
Hoy, al existir los congeladores, no hace falta usar fabas secas, que hay que poner a remojo el dÃa anterior, se pueden recoger de la planta y no dejar secar, sino congelar
Today, as there are freezers, there is no need to use dried fabas, which must be soaked the previous day, they can be collected of the plant and not left to dry, but frozen
La fabada nace a finales del siglo XIX, hay una teoria que dice que nace al quitarle condimentos al pote asturiano (en Asturias pote de berzas).
The fabada was born in the late nineteenth century, there is a theory that says it was born by removing condiments Asturian pote (in Asturias pote of berzas).
Es curioso que tanto el pote asturiano (actual) y la fabada no existirÃa sin el descubrimiento de América.
It is curious that both the Asturian pot (current) and fabada would not exist without the discovery of America.
http://historiasjasm.blogspot.com.es/2016/05/cuate-prestome-lo-que-enviaste.html
I'm sorry it's in Spanish
I apologize by my English (I don't speak English)
Lauren Aloise
Gracias por los hechos interesantes Jose! Me encanta la fabada 🙂