Tapas come in many guises, from simple tortilla to London-centric ‘picture on a plate’ restaurant creations but often in Spain, and also Chez Ben’s, they can just be a ladle of whatever is in the pot at the time. Spain has an abundance of bean stews and Fabada Asturiana is, without question, the best known – almost the paella of the north. It's as simple as they come but totally dependent on the quality of the meat ingredients. It's almost a religion and the packs of, ready to go, belly pork, morcilla and chorizo are available in every food shop (including Ben's Farm Shop). Complete authenticity requires fabes de la granja (large dried runner beans) and a lightly smoked, semi cured morcilla (black pudding), chorizo and thick slices of salted belly pork. In damp Asturia, they smoke all their preserved meats in the chimney. The morcilla is the only one that keeps it’s form when cooked so definitely isn't interchangeable. The real deal beans are expensive and hard to find so most people, including me, substitute fava/butter/judion beans. It's important to stir as gently and little as possible to keep the beans intact.
The end result isn't exactly short of flavour but the extremely inauthentic mojo picon adds a little body to what can be a pretty thin broth. As with all these dishes, a slow cooker is ideal.
Hailing from the Modena region, this classic Italian dish is traditionally served on New Year’s Eve. Local custom has it that eating a portion of cotechino before midnight is a good omen for the New Year as lentils and legumes signify longevity, fair winds and good luck. A real traditionalist would serve Zampone (sausage meat in a boned-out pigs trotter) but these days, it’s usually cotechino. The delicious thick sausage is made from what, until recently, were considered to be secondary cuts of meat (shoulder and belly) with a bit of finely minced rind and is meant to be served sliced to resemble coins and therefore prosperity. These days, cotechino is normally cooked, and sold in gold or silver foil bags, so just needs slicing and reheating. In the best BFS tradition, we’ve made our own, cured and cooked, so just needs slicing and lightly frying until it begins to char around the edges. If you’re feeling brave, the lentil/salsa verde combo also works well with ox tongue – but not on New Year’s Eve because you won’t get the good luck. The piquant salsa verde pairs perfectly with the cotechino so definitely isn’t optional here. Salsa verde recipes are easy to find but we make ours with four parts parsley, two parts of basil, one of mint and half of tarragon, plus the usual suspects of garlic, capers, anchovies, lemon juice, sherry vinegar, Dijon mustard and olive oil. It’s a punchy little number.