The flavours of Spain – in one pot!

I love a tasty one-pot supper (less washing up and lots of flavour!) and they don’t come much better than this tomato-rich chorizo sausage and butter bean stew. I’ve made this many, many times and I never tire of it, but what really makes it special is the quality of these basic ingredients: bittersweet Pimentón paprika, sherry vinegar, dried giant butter beans and soft cured chorizo cooking sausages. Some of these ingredients can be found easily at supermarkets e.g. Waitrose, some from specialist farmer’s markets such as Suffolk Spanish Traders or online Spanish ingredients traders such as Brindisia.

You will need … serves 4

• Smoked chorizo cooking sausages, 2 per person – I use the Unearthed brand from Waitrose or, when I can get them, the really authentic ones from Suffolk Spanish Traders at Wyken market.
• 2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar – I use the El Majuelo brand from Waitrose.
• 1 tablespoon of bittersweet Pimentón paprika – I use the Ramos brand from Suffolk Spanish Traders at Wyken market.
• 200g Judion variety dried butter beans – I brought my bodyweight of these back from my summer holiday in Sicily but you can get them from speciality grocery stores or online. You can use tinned but they usually dissolve into the stew because they’re too soft.
• 2 fresh bay leaves.
• 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes. I use ripe, fresh ones in the summer when they’re cheap and plentiful. Just plunge them in boiling water for a minute or two to skin them first.
• 1 tablespoon of tomato purée.
• 3 onions – red or white, sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed.
• 2 red Romano peppers
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• Salt and black pepper

To make…

• Soak the dried butter beans overnight in cold water.
• The next day, preheat the oven to 200 C.
• Place the Romano peppers on a baking tray and place into the hot oven for 20 minutes until the skin is blistered. The skin will slip off easily when they’re done. Remove the seeds and chop into chunky pieces. Put them to one side as you will add this to the dish just before serving.
• Turn the oven down to 150C.
• Put the beans in fresh water and bring to the boil in a saucepan. Add a bay leaf and cook for about 30 minutes until soft but not squishy.
• Heat the oil in a large cast-iron, ovenproof casserole on the hob.
• Gently fry the onions and garlic in the oil until soft and slightly caramelised.
• Add the sausages and brown them on each side.
• Add the Pimentón and fry for a few seconds.
• Add the tomatoes, purée, sherry vinegar, the other bay leaf and the part-cooked beans.
• Bring it to a simmer, pop on the lid and put it in the oven for an hour and a half.
• Remove it from the oven. The beans and sausages should be cooked through and the sauce should be reduced and thickened. Taste for seasoning, add a little salt and pepper. If you’re happy with it and don’t think it needs more time, stir in the red peppers.
• Put it back in the oven for another 10 minutes to warm through.
• Serve in warmed bowls with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkle of Pimentón, some crusty bread and a full-bodied glass of red! Rioja? Perfect!

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