Fabada Asturiana

Fabada asturiana is a hearty stew of large white beans with pork shoulder, chorizo and morcilla. It comes from Asturias, in Spain's rainy green north, and it is built for exactly the kind of weather that region is known for.

What it actually is

Large white fabes beans — a variety specific to Asturias, softer and creamier than a standard haricot — are simmered slowly with pork shoulder, chorizo and morcilla (blood sausage), plus onion, garlic and a bay leaf, until the beans turn almost creamy and the meats give up their fat into the broth. The mix of meats is called the compango, and it's sold as a set specifically for making this dish.

It's a one-pot dish in the truest sense — everything cooks together in the same broth, and nothing is browned or fried separately first.

How it's served

• In the broth, in a deep bowl, meats sliced or left whole on top.
• With bread, to take the broth; nothing else is really needed alongside it.
• The next day, often preferred — like most bean stews, it improves overnight.

Writing it on a menu

• Note that it contains blood sausage plainly; some guests will want to know before it's on the table, not after.
• Flag the pork, in three different forms across the dish.
• Say if you use real Asturian fabes, if you can get them; a standard white bean is a fair substitute but a genuinely different texture.
• Mention that it's filling — it's a full meal on its own, not a first course.