Fabada Asturiana

This Classic dish from Asturia has always intrigued me. I love the french Cassoulet, which is based on similar ingredients, so I knew I would enjoy this one, too. 

On my recent trip to Barcelona I found the beans and mix of the 3 meats in the supermarket. Though I wish I could say I got them from the most fantastic Outdoor Market near the Las Ramblas. Ooooh my what a fantastic place that is!!!!
But anyway, there are alternatives that can be used, the Chorizo however is a must!

I had to make it twice though. Once the complicated way with Soaking the beans and cooking them with a ham bone for hours and hours. But I didn't like the result. Somehow it tasted a bit too something, too complicated.

So I started again making it as simple and easy as possible. Funny enough, that worked a treat!

Here is what I did.

Ingredients:

1 Glass Jar of Fabada Beans(or Cannellini Beans)

1 small Chorizo Sausage, skinned and cut into 1 inch pieces

1 small Mocilla Blood Sausage, skinned and cut into 1 inch pieces

2 thick slices of Pancetta Bacon, cut into 1 inch squares

3 garlic Cloves, mashed into a paste with salt

1/2 tsp Spanish Smoked Paprika

Pour the Beans including their juice with everything else into a suitable pan and bring to a simmer. No need to fry anything first. Cover and leave to cook on a low heat for about 20 minutes. The juices will turn a delicious red color from the Chorizo and smoked Paprika. Taste for seasoning but mine didn't need any as the sausages and bacon flavored the beans beautifully.

Serve with Chunky Bread and enjoy!

(This picture, I have to add, is not mine, I chose it as it resembled most closely what my dish looked like. On that evening I didn't unfortunately have a camera that would take pictures in the darkness of our Boat, where I had cooked. I will add my own the next time I cook this again.)

Paella

I am so looking forward to returning to Barcelona in a week's time that I had to make one of the Spanish Classics, Paella, today, just to keep the excitement at bay.

It's actually not difficult to make at all and can be varied in many many ways to suit your taste buds.

My version includes Chicken, Prawns, Scallops and of course Chorizo. But I would happily use Rabbit and some Clams or Mussels as well.

I also added a few extra vegetables just to keep the calories low and the healthy high.

Here are my ingredients for 6 portions (10 Weightwatchers Points each):

300g Paella Rice

1 small Chicken

100g Chorizo, halved then sliced

100g raw shelled Prawns

80g mini Scallops

a handful of frozen Peas

a small bunch of Asparagus, cut into 1 inch length

a handful of Sugar snap peas

1 red Pepper, roughly chopped

1 red Onion, diced

2 garlic Cloves, sliced

a pinch of Saffron

a scattering of chopped parsley

1 Lemon cut into 6 wedges for garnish

Here is what I did with the Chicken. To make good use of the whole bird I first used the good meat for the dish, which I carefully cut off the chicken and then cut into largish chunks. The skin and bones I made into the Stock, with which I then cooked the Paella. Once ready I infused the Saffron in the Stock to give it a lovely color.

In a large pan fry the Chicken Pieces in a little olive oil, then remove them onto a plate. Next the Chorizo, Red Pepper, Onion and Garlic go in and everything get's tossed and sizzles for a little while. Measure the 300g of rice in a Measuring jug, so you know how much volume of stock to add. It takes about 1 1/2 times as much stock as rice. Which works out about 350ml ish.

So now the rice goes in with a little stir to absorb flavor and color, before the Chicken pieces rejoin the pan and 2/3 of the hot stock. If the stock is seasoned nicely then there is no need for extra salt. The Chorizo also helps  to flavor the Paella. Bring to a simmer, then cover and turn the heat to low.

After about 10 minutes gently stir in the green vegetables and the rest of the hot Stock. After 5 more minutes scatter the seafood on top, or better still place it decoratively.

Cover again and after 5 more minutes turn off the heat and leave the Paella to sit for yet another 5 minutes.

Arrange the Lemon Wedges around the side, sprinkle with the Parsley and serve in the Pan to your delighted guests.

I want to apologise for the lack of quality of my pictures. I cannot find my Camera cable, since moving house, so I'm using my Phone camera, which isn't my perfect idea of Photography. But it'll have to do until my cable is found.