BASQUE BEAN STEW

Tolosa is a town in the Basque country known for its beans, which are black and creamy when cooked. This dish is known as alubia de Tolosa, but it’s something that’s eaten throughout Spain.

This bean and meat stew is a common thing to eat at the weekend, or when family are visiting – it’s a celebratory sort of meal. You eat the beans first, then the meat. It’s quite rich, so you need the pickled piparras to cut through the fattiness, and lots of red wine – and then a siesta afterwards …

If you can’t find Tolosa beans, you can use good-quality white or black beans instead.

FOR 6

500g dried Tolosa beans, soaked in water overnight

1 onion, peeled and cut in half

1 bay leaf

600g pork ribs

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters

300g good-quality smoked pancetta, skin off (in one piece)

4 whole chorizo (around 100–120g each)

3 rice morcilla (or the best you can afford), about 150g each

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

pickled piparras or guindilla peppers, to serve

Drain the beans, then put them into a large pot or casserole dish with enough fresh water to cover them by one and a half times. This is important: you don’t want so much water that the beans will overcook. Throw in the onion, bay leaf and pork ribs, but don’t add any salt at this stage – it will make the skins separate from the beans.

Partially cover with the lid and cook on a medium heat, so it’s gently bubbling, for 20–25 minutes, then add the potatoes and pancetta.

Add the chorizo and morcilla 10–12 minutes before the end (any longer and the morcilla will break), with enough water to just cover.

Taste, and when the beans are soft, season.

To serve, everything must be hot (except the pickles). Discard the onion and bay leaf and transfer the potatoes, pork ribs, chorizo, pancetta and morcilla to a large plate. Put the piparras on a small plate. Slice the chorizo and morcilla into medallions and chop the pancetta into lardons. Serve everything in the middle of the table: the beans in their pot, the plate of meat and potatoes, and the pickles, with lots of bread to scoop up the juices.