chorizo and butter bean stew
Popped round a friend’s for dinner. It was supposed to be out for tapas – but it turns out that restaurant was closed. On a Saturday! Don’t worry they said, we have just the recipe. And this is it!
Originally this comes from a Waitrose magazine, but as recipes do they get twisted and transformed along the way until they are just the way you like it. Meaty chorizo gives it bags of flavour, tomatoes are sweet/sour and butter beans are soft and comforting.
It also keeps great in the fridge or freezer, scales up well for a crowd – it’s a keeper! For posterity, I asked for a copy and stashing it here on the blog so I have a copy always on hand. Thanks for the recipe!
chorizo and butter bean stew
This tasty stew suits any time of year, but especially the tail end of summer when you're clinging on the last of the warmth.
Ingredients
- 250 g chorizo sliced
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 sticks celery finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 courgette sliced
- 150 ml dry white wine
- 400 g tinned tomatoes
- 1 tin butter beans drained
Instructions
- Fry the chorizo in a large, non-stick frying pan until it releases its oil. Add the onion, celery and courgette and cook until softened. Add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds to spread the garlicky flavour around.
- Turn up the heat and add the wine. Bubble away until there's a thick syrup at the bottom. Add tomatoes to the pan and reduce the heat, simmering for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally to break up the tomatoes, until the sauce has thickened.
- Stir in the butter beans and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Check seasoning, then garnish with chopped flat leaf parsley and serve with a tomato salad, and crusty bread to mop up the juices.
Notes
Very easy to swap out the beans for any beans or pulses you have that need using up. Puy lentils or chickpeas would be great. This also serves well alongside many things like a jacket potato, rice or tortillas. Serve in smaller amounts with other dishes for a great tapas.
I’ve cooked various versions of this, since encountering it in Andalusia some 15 years back, and it’s now one of our regular meals. I usually add peppers, the odd over-ripe tomato and remains of a ham or bacon joint
Tinned butter beans (life is too short to cook my own?) taste a lot better if they get 15+ mins to absorb cooking flavours, so I add them 10-15 minutes after the tomatoes have then give everything at least 20 minutes cooking together.
Making ahead and sitting on the stove for even half an hour before re-heating will enhance flavours more and, as always, its even better next day!
That should read:
‘sometimes the odd over-ripe tomato or even the remains of a ham or bacon joint’!!! It then becomes less tapas and more bean stew but mmmm chorizo….’
Well said Annie, peppers are also one of my favourites to add to this.