Chorizo & Butterbean Stew
Today I needed to make something for tea to use up a bit of chorizo I had in, so after a quick rummage in the cupboards I decided to make a chorizo and butterbean stew. It's something I've put together before as a relatively cheap but hearty and filling tea that can be made with the minimum of fuss, just a bit of time and stirring!
I wasn't following a recipe, so I've outlined the method below in case anyone is interested. Ingredients were:
about 4” piece of thin cooking chorizo (off a chorizo ring)
large onion
large yellow pepper
tin of butterbeans
rosemary - a few small sprigs chopped finely, and a long stalk with leaves attached
small firm courgette
tin of plum tomatoes
tomato puree
fresh parsley
olive oil, salt & pepper
(optional) a little veg bouillon powder (stock)
Cut onion into thinnish slices, heated some olive oil in a heavy-based large saucepan, and separated the slices as I chucked them in. Cooked on medium heat till I could see them start to loosen up, then added the pepper strips, cut to about the same thickness. Cooked on medium heat for about 5 mins, then turned down to med-low and cooked, stirring occasionally, for about 25 minutes. This was longer than I'd probably planned to, but they did turn out wonderfully carmelised and sweet, so I think I'd probably go for long cooking again.
Then I threw in the chorizo chunks - cut into slices then in half again, so thinnish semicircles. Stirred in on low heat, left for about 5 minutes, then turned up heat a little bit. Stirred occasionally, the smoky paprika oils started to come out of the chorizo and mix with the onion & pepper.
After another 5 minutes, added the chunks of courgette. I was hoping these would be 'al dente' rather than soft, so cut them chunky in the hope the skin would hold the structure and prevent too much softening.
Gave it a stir and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Then added a tin of peeled plum tomatoes, broke the tomatoes up with my spatula, and added a squirt (about 1 tsp) of tomato puree, a little vegetable bouillon powder (salt & pepper would have been fine), and a splash or two of water to loosen it up.
Added the chopped rosemary (about a quarter of a teaspoon) and tucked in the branch of rosemary to infuse into the liquid. Left it on a medium hob again for 10 minutes, with the odd stir, then added the tinned butter beans (rinsing and picking out any loose skins first). After 10 more mins and a bit of stirring, it was ready!
Added some chopped parsley on top and a grind of seasalt, and it wasn't long before it was all eaten up. It turned out wonderfully sweet and smoky, with a hint of the rosemary oils coming through.
Kept a slight firmness in the courgette chunks and butter beans, while onions & peppers had definitely sweetened up nicely.
Thankfully I made enough to have some left over for tea before my Spanish language class on Tuesday :-)
I wasn't following a recipe, so I've outlined the method below in case anyone is interested. Ingredients were:
about 4” piece of thin cooking chorizo (off a chorizo ring)
large onion
large yellow pepper
tin of butterbeans
rosemary - a few small sprigs chopped finely, and a long stalk with leaves attached
small firm courgette
tin of plum tomatoes
tomato puree
fresh parsley
olive oil, salt & pepper
(optional) a little veg bouillon powder (stock)
Cut onion into thinnish slices, heated some olive oil in a heavy-based large saucepan, and separated the slices as I chucked them in. Cooked on medium heat till I could see them start to loosen up, then added the pepper strips, cut to about the same thickness. Cooked on medium heat for about 5 mins, then turned down to med-low and cooked, stirring occasionally, for about 25 minutes. This was longer than I'd probably planned to, but they did turn out wonderfully carmelised and sweet, so I think I'd probably go for long cooking again.
Then I threw in the chorizo chunks - cut into slices then in half again, so thinnish semicircles. Stirred in on low heat, left for about 5 minutes, then turned up heat a little bit. Stirred occasionally, the smoky paprika oils started to come out of the chorizo and mix with the onion & pepper.
After another 5 minutes, added the chunks of courgette. I was hoping these would be 'al dente' rather than soft, so cut them chunky in the hope the skin would hold the structure and prevent too much softening.
Gave it a stir and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Then added a tin of peeled plum tomatoes, broke the tomatoes up with my spatula, and added a squirt (about 1 tsp) of tomato puree, a little vegetable bouillon powder (salt & pepper would have been fine), and a splash or two of water to loosen it up.
Added the chopped rosemary (about a quarter of a teaspoon) and tucked in the branch of rosemary to infuse into the liquid. Left it on a medium hob again for 10 minutes, with the odd stir, then added the tinned butter beans (rinsing and picking out any loose skins first). After 10 more mins and a bit of stirring, it was ready!
Added some chopped parsley on top and a grind of seasalt, and it wasn't long before it was all eaten up. It turned out wonderfully sweet and smoky, with a hint of the rosemary oils coming through.
Kept a slight firmness in the courgette chunks and butter beans, while onions & peppers had definitely sweetened up nicely.
Thankfully I made enough to have some left over for tea before my Spanish language class on Tuesday :-)