'FABADA'

 

Method

 

Drain the beans. Put them in a large pot, add water to cover by 2 inches and bring to the boil. Skim off any foam, lower the heat to a simmer & add the olive oil, saffron, pimento, garlic, ham hock & bacon. Simmer for 1 hour, adding more water as necessary to keep the beans & meat covered. Remove from the heat, remove the meats & let cool slightly.

 

Remove the meat from the ham hock & shred it into bite-size pieces. Cut the bacon into 1 inch chucks & cut the sausages into thick slices. Discard the garlic & onion, ladle the beans into bowls & nestle the various meats in the beans

 

 

Ingredients (Makes 10-12 servings)

 

2 Pounds dried fava beans, soaked overnight in water to cover

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Pinch of saffron threads

1 tablespoon hot pimento

1 head garlic

1 smoked ham hock

1 pound slab of bacon

1 pound chorizo

1 pound morcilla (Spanish black pudding)

1 onion

 

Winter 2009/2010

 

During the spring we went on a 3 day trip to Asturias in northern Spain & found it a green mountains region nothing like the tourist traps of the east & south.  You can't go to Asturias & not eat fabada. The region's most famous dish, fabada is a bean & pork stew & Asturians are justly proud of it. In a way the dish is emblematic of the area. Simple & a bit rugged, fabada lacks pretence but is full of flavour & just about every Asturian has a slightly different way of making it most based on their families recipe which has been passed down through the generations, see recipe below.
Text Box: Focaccia Bread Making Recipe Biga Flour 12% or above 500g Water 325g Yeast dried mixed with warm water 10g Method Mix to a paste and leave at room temp for 12 hours (make the last thing the night before you want to make the bread) Focaccia Flour 12% or above 1000g Table Salt 24g EV Olive Oil 100g Biga 500g Yeast dried mixed with warm water 25g Water 550g Method Mix everything to dough remember salt and yeast easy to forget Knead 20-45mins and test with stretching the dough to form a membrane Prove at room temp 45mins Cut and press into tins Leave to rest ten mins add inclusions like tomatoes olives peppers if using Prove for 20mins Dock with fingers and brush with olive oil Bake 220oC 12-15mins until golden Allow to cool on rack

El Toro's Beers

 

Super Bock:

Is a Portuguese brand of strong pale large from the unicer brewery which produces a range of beers under the same name. Established in 1927, unicer is based in Leca do Balio just outside the city of Porto, Portugal.

 

Estrella Damm:

Is a Catalan pilsener. It has been brewed in Barcelona since 1876 & is the flagship beer of S.A.Damm a prominent Barcelona brewery. "Estrella" means "Star" in both Castillian & Catalan.
Text Box: Barcelona Text Box: Passion

Winter 2009/2010