Fabada asturiana, also called fabada, is the most popular dish of the cuisine of the province of Asturias, in Spain. It has been so widespread that it is recognized as one of the most important dishes in the whole country.
This dish is a kind of hearty stew, prepared with faba asturiana (a type of legume; fabes in Asturian), chorizo, blood sausage, bacon, and pork meat.
What is the origin of fabada?
It is not known exactly when fabada first appeared in Asturias. However, it is believed, according to written documents, that there are references to it since the 19th century. In 1884, the popular newspaper El Comercio of the city of Gijón mentioned this dish as a popular dish of the Asturian region, although it did not refer to its recipe or preparation.
It began to gain more fame after popular writings were published during the beginning of the 21st century, so it would be easy to affirm that its origins are dated between these two centuries, although it is not known exactly when.
While the recipe as such is believed to have appeared at that time, many of its ingredients have been popular in the region since much earlier. The key is the fabes, these typical legumes of Asturias, which have been consumed in the province since at least the 16th century. While there are many varieties of these beans, the ones used for fabada asturiana are the so-called de la granja (from the farm): soft, buttery beans.
The compango
The compango is the meat base of the fabada asturiana and the cocido montañés, and it is possible to get it in the supermarket already packaged for just cutting and cooking.
While there are some variants of the mixture, it usually consists of black pudding, bacon or pancetta, and chorizo – all smoked. It is a very popular mixture in Cantabrian and Galician cuisine as well, where it is also used for other famous Spanish dishes such as lentil stew.
Asturian black pudding (morcilla asturiana), the favorite for compango, is black, with a strong flavor, and with a high onion content that adds an important touch to its flavor. Being such a strong ingredient, some say that it is the one that gives the maximum taste to this dish.
The bacon, on the other hand (although sometimes it is replaced by pork shoulder), is generally streaky and has a higher percentage of meat than fat. Ideally, it should be well salted and soaked overnight before using it so that its flavor does not overshadow the rest of the dish.
Finally, Asturian chorizo also has a very strong flavor and is a smoked version. It stands out for the high presence of paprika, which not only adds aroma and flavor but also its particularly strong red color. In general, rather small chorizos are preferred for fabada as they are usually the most tender.
Dishes similar to fabada
First of all, it is interesting to note that there have been a large number of Asturian emigrants all over the world who have taken their roots to their new destinations, including fabada. A clear example of this is the city of Tampa, in the United States, where it has become very popular.
In Latin America, a region of the world with a high percentage of Spanish immigrants, there are several countries where dishes have been adapted from Asturian fabada.
In Mexico, two dishes are direct descendants of this preparation, or at least very similar. The first one is called patoles and is very popular in the regions of Durango, Sinaloa, and Chihuahua since pre-Hispanic times, and then adapted to what it is today.
The other dish is called frijoles charros and is believed to have existed since the time of the viceroyalty. Its ingredients are pinto beans, bacon, chorizo, ribs, chiles, onion, tomato, and garlic.
In Colombia, there is the bandeja paisa, which could be said to be a Creole adaptation of the Asturian fabada. This preparation uses red kidney beans, pork leg, garlic, onion, chorizo, chicharrón, ground beef, avocado, white rice, and fried egg. It has slightly more tropical overtones.
In Chile, porotos is very popular. It is accompanied with wheat mote or long noodles (spaghetti or tagliatelle).
In Brazil, of course, the most similar to the Asturian fabada is feijoada.
Finally, there is a very old dish in France with very similar characteristics called cassoulet from the Languedoc region.
Fabada Asturiana
Ingredients
- 16 oz. fabes de la Granja , white beans from Asturias
- 3 medium onions , peeled
- 5 cloves garlic , with skin
- 2 chorizos from Asturias
- 2 morcillas from Asturias
- 8 oz. lacón salado , salted pork shoulder
- 6 oz. tocino , bacon
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- A few pistils of saffron infused in 2 tablespoons of boiling water , optional
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Equipment
- Heavy bottom cast iron pot
Instructions
- The day before, soak the beans in a large container and in a large amount of cold water as they increase in volume.
- Leave to soak at room temperature.
- In another bowl, put the lacón salado to desalt in a large quantity of cold water, also from the day before (for 8 hours).
- Place it in the fridge but take it out of the fridge 1 hour before preparing the fabada.
- The next day, place the beans in a heavy-bottomed cast iron pot.
- Add the garlic cloves, whole peeled onions, sweet paprika, saffron infusion and pistils, olive oil and bay leaves.
- Cover with water 1 inch (3 cm) above the beans.
- Bring to a boil over high heat and as soon as the boiling resumes, cut the cooking by adding ¾ cup (200 ml) of very cold water.
- In a large saucepan, boil the 2 chorizos, the 2 morcillas and the tocino (bacon) separately for 3 minutes in a large quantity of boiling water. Change the water for each of the 3 meats.
- Add all the meats without cutting them into the pot of beans: chorizos, morcillas, lacón salado, tocino (bacon). Mix and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Then lower the heat, cover and cook over medium/low heat for 1 hour.
- Add ¾ cup (200 ml) of very cold water, mix and bring to the boil again over high heat.
- As soon as it resumes boiling, lower the heat and cook again, but over low heat, for 2 hours, possibly adding boiling water during cooking, if necessary.
- When the beans are done, taste and add more salt if needed, letting the fabada cook a few more minutes for the salt to incorporate.
- If the amount of liquid is still too much, increase the heat temperature and reduce to the desired consistency.
Notes
- Do not salt the fabada at the beginning of cooking but at the very last moment.
- Do not cut chorizos, morcillas, lacón salado (salted pork shoulder) and tocino (bacon) before cooking. Cut them when serving.
Sources
Wikipedia (ES) – Fabada
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Hands Doing Things is the brainchild of Sabri and Bian, who combined their passion for food with their professional careers of writing & photography, and filmmaking.
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