Chorizo and Butter Bean Stew

This was based on a recipe given to me by a friend and entitled “Tuscan Bean Stew”, we used chorizo instead of the suggested pancetta though which probably makes it less Tuscan and more Spanish, hence the renaming.

It was really good, much better than other versions of this we’ve attempted in the past. The small amount of chorizo adds lots of flavour and makes it a very economical dish. Quick too and versatile as I imagine you could add lots of different vegetables if you wanted to.

Chorizo and Butter Bean Stew

125g chorizo, sliced

1 onion, finely diced

1 stick celery, finely diced

1 carrot, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 small red chilli, finely chopped

1/2 inch ginger, finely chopped

Celery tops

1 tin tomatoes

300ml chicken stock

400g beans (we used dried beans, soaked overnight and boiled for 1.5 hours)

Salt and pepper

Bay leaf

Start by browning the chorizo and then removing from the pan. Add the onion, carrot and celery and sweat for about 15 minutes, or until everything is very soft.

Add the garlic, chilli and ginger and allow to brown briefly. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, bring to the boil, reduce and simmer for 30 minutes.