Fabada asturiana
Fabada is one of the most famous dishes of Asturias: large white fabes beans cooked with chorizo, morcilla blood sausage and pork belly, with no vegetables beyond onion and garlic. The sauce is not thickened with flour — it thickens from the beans' own starch, which is why it is simmered very gently and “startled” now and then with cold water. The chorizo and morcilla colour the broth orange and give it a smoky taste. It is a winter one-pot and very filling — in Asturias it is eaten at midday, followed by a long rest.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Soaking the beans 480 min
- Preparation 15 min
- Simmering 195 min
- Resting 30 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneSoak the beans
Cover the beans with cold water 5 cm above them and leave 8 hours or overnight. Soak the pork belly at the same time if it is very salty.
Ingredients: 500 g large white beans (fabes, butter beans) · 1 pcs onion · 3 cloves garlic · 1 pcs bay leaf · 1 tsp sweet paprika · 1 pinch saffron · 2 tbsp olive oil · 1 tsp salt
Soaked beans double in size.Drain
Drain the soaking water and put the beans in a large pot (about 5 l). Cover with fresh cold water 3 cm above the beans.
Ingredients: 500 g large white beans (fabes, butter beans) · 1 pcs onion · 3 cloves garlic · 1 pcs bay leaf · 1 tsp sweet paprika · 1 pinch saffron · 2 tbsp olive oil · 1 tsp salt
Add the meats
Add the whole chorizo and the piece of pork belly, along with the halved onion, garlic and bay leaf. Pour in the olive oil. The blood sausage goes in later — three hours of cooking would break it up.
Ingredients: 200 g cooking chorizo · 200 g morcilla or smoked blood sausage · 200 g smoked pork belly, in one piece
Whole sausages — you cut them only at the end.Boil and skim
Bring to the boil, boil for 5 minutes while skimming with a slotted spoon, and only then lower the heat to minimum. The surface should barely move — a rolling boil bursts the bean skins.
Ingredients: 500 g large white beans (fabes, butter beans) · 1 pcs onion · 3 cloves garlic · 1 pcs bay leaf · 1 tsp sweet paprika · 1 pinch saffron · 2 tbsp olive oil · 1 tsp salt
Simmer slowly
Simmer uncovered (or with the lid ajar) for 3 hours. Every half hour add half a glass of cold water and shake the pot instead of stirring — that binds the sauce without breaking the beans.
Ingredients: 500 g large white beans (fabes, butter beans) · 1 pcs onion · 3 cloves garlic · 1 pcs bay leaf · 1 tsp sweet paprika · 1 pinch saffron · 2 tbsp olive oil · 1 tsp salt
Barely bubbling — that is how fabada cooks.Add the blood sausage and spices
After 2 hours add the whole blood sausage, the paprika and the saffron crushed between your fingers, and take out the onion and bay leaf. The last hour is enough for the sausage to give its flavour without falling apart.
Ingredients: 200 g cooking chorizo · 200 g morcilla or smoked blood sausage · 200 g smoked pork belly, in one piece
Check and season
The beans are ready when creamy inside and the sauce is as thick as pouring cream. Only salt now — the meats are salty. Cook 15 minutes more if the sauce is thin.
Ingredients: 500 g large white beans (fabes, butter beans) · 1 pcs onion · 3 cloves garlic · 1 pcs bay leaf · 1 tsp sweet paprika · 1 pinch saffron · 2 tbsp olive oil · 1 tsp salt
Rest and serve
Take off the heat and rest 30 minutes — the sauce thickens and the flavours settle. Cut the meats into pieces, share them between plates and ladle the beans over. Serve with bread.
Ingredients: 200 g cooking chorizo · 200 g morcilla or smoked blood sausage · 200 g smoked pork belly, in one piece
Before you start
The beans
The original fabes de la Granja are very large and floury. Any big white bean such as butter beans is closest. Beans more than a year old take longer and split more easily.
Blood sausage
Spanish morcilla asturiana is smoked and contains paprika. Smoked blood sausage is the closest match; plain blood sausage works too, with half a teaspoon of smoked paprika added.
Storage
Fabada keeps 3 days in the fridge and is thicker and tastier the next day. Reheat slowly with a splash of water. It freezes well for 3 months.
