Spanish White Bean Stew with Chorizo Sausage
Tender white beans simmered with soft chorizo, sweet peppers, and smoky paprika in a thick tomato broth. A rustic, deeply satisfying Spanish stew, best mopped up with crusty bread.
- 14 oz (400 g) dried white beans
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 9 oz (250 g) soft chorizo sausage, sliced
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- ½ cup chopped parsley (celery may also be used)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 14 oz (400 g) can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup chicken stock, vegetable stock, or water
- The night before cooking, soak the dried beans in a large bowl of water with 1 tablespoon of salt stirred in. The next day, rinse them thoroughly, then boil them in a pot of fresh water until soft and fully tender — cooking time will vary depending on the type, age, and quality of your beans, so check them periodically rather than relying on a fixed time. Once tender, rinse the beans well and set them aside.
- In a large skillet, combine the olive oil, chopped carrot, onion, bell peppers, and sliced chorizo. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened, about 10 to 15 minutes — the chorizo will release some of its paprika-rich oil as it cooks, which helps flavor the vegetables as everything softens together.
- Stir in the paprika, thyme, parsley, diced tomatoes, chicken stock, cooked beans, and salt and pepper to taste. Once the mixture comes up to a boil, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened to a rich, stew-like consistency that coats the beans and chorizo.
- Serve hot, with plenty of crusty bread alongside for soaking up the sauce.
Chef's Note: Soft, cured Spanish chorizo behaves very differently in the pan than the firmer, dry-cured chorizo found in many supermarkets — as it cooks, it releases its own paprika-tinted fat directly into the vegetables, which is what gives this stew its distinctive smoky-orange color and deep flavor without needing extra oil or seasoning to compensate. If you can only find the firmer cured variety, it will still work, though the dish will taste slightly different and won't release quite as much flavorful fat.
If you're short on time, three to four cans of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained, can stand in for the dried beans entirely, skipping the soaking and boiling steps altogether. The dried beans can also be boiled up to a day ahead and refrigerated, which makes this stew much faster to pull together on a weeknight — and if you cook extra beans while you're at it, they keep well for salads or other dishes throughout the week.
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