FABADA ASTURIANA

Description:
Fabada is probably the second most famous Spanish dish after Paella. Fabada Asturiana, often simply known as Fabada, is a rich Spanish bean stew, originally from and most commonly found in the autonomous community of Asturias, but widely available throughout the whole of Spain and in Spanish restaurants worldwide. Fabada is a heavy dish and for that reason is most commonly eaten during the largest meal of the day, lunch (normally as a starter before the 'main' course of meat). It is usually served with crusty bread, and with Asturian cider or a red wine.(Recipe from http://www.batista.org/fabada.html)

Ingredients:
• 6 cans of large Butter beans, (soaked lima beans) which in Spain are called Fabas
• 6 oz cooked ham
• 6 oz Chorizo
• 6 oz Morcilla
• 6 oz Bacon
• 1 cup Chicken stock
• 2 tbs Olive oil
• 1/2 onion
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper
• 1 ts saffron (azafrán)


Directions:
Pre-cooking:
• Cut the onion and bell pepper in half
• Cut the ham, bacon, chorizo and morzilla in bite size chunks
• Reserve 4-5 pieces of chorizo and morcilla, mush them
• Take half a can worth of beans, and mush them into a paste
Cooking:
• Set tall frying pan in mid-high heat
• Add the olive oil to frying pan
• Fry the half onion and bell pepper for 2 minutes
• Add 4 cans of beans with their stock
• Add saffron and stir
• If at any time the beans are over the stock, add some chicken stock
• Once hot, lower the heat to mid-low
• Add the chorizo, morcilla and ham
• Add the mashed chorizo and morcilla, stir carefully
• Boil until the beans are really soft
• If the sauce is to watery add some of the bean paste made earlier to thicken the sauce and boil for a couple more minutes
• Remove the onion and bell pepper before serving