Butter Beans and Spinach with Chorizo

Serves: 4 | Time: 35 min

A recipe from Catalonia, a region well known for hearty dishes. A tapas favorite as well a perfect meal on a chilly evening. Easily put together with pantry supplies and done under 30 minutes. Soul warming and absolutely delicious.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (180 g) Spanish dry-cured chorizo, sliced
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 cups onions, about 540g, roughly chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp smoked paprika (Pimentón de la vera)
• ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
• 1/4 cup/60ml white wine
• 1 can 16 oz/400 g diced tomatoes, drained, juice reserved
• 2 cans 15 oz / 425 g butter beans, cannellini or navy, drained and rinsed
• 2 1/2 /590 ml cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 4-6 cups/140 g fresh baby spinach, washed and drained
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• Crusty bread, to serve

Preparation

Cook the chorizo. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chorizo and cook for 2–3 minutes, until it starts to crisp and releases its oil. Remove the chorizo with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the fat in the pan.

Vegetable Base. Add the onion to the pan and sauté over medium heat for 5–6 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic, smoked paprika, oregano, thyme and red pepper flakes. Cook for 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Pour in the white wine and reduce it to half. Add the diced tomatoes and cook until tomatoes start to falling apart and get saucy, about 10 minutes.

Add the beans. Add the drained beans. Add 1 cup of broth and stir to combine, then simmer for 5 minutes to let the flavors meld. Add more broth to your liking keeping in mind that the spinach releases water.

Wilt the spinach. Add the spinach by handful, stirring each addition until wilted before adding the next.

Serve. Transfer to a serving dish or individual plates and serve with crusty bread to soak up the juices.

Notes

Chorizo: Use Spanish dry-cured chorizo (the firm, sliceable kind), not fresh Mexican chorizo, which is a raw sausage and a different product entirely. Either mild or hot works here.

Beans: Butter beans hold their shape best, but canelinni, great northern or navy beans work fine as well. If using dried beans, soak them overnight and cook them until just tender before adding to the pan.

Spinach: Fresh spinach leaves are better than frozen ones which contain a lot of water and tend to fall apart.

Vegetarian version: Omit the chorizo and start with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add an extra ½ teaspoon of smoked paprika to compensate for the missing depth.