Recipe: Spanish Sausage and Bean Stew with Fresh Mint

Spanish Sausage and Bean Stew with Fresh Mint
Servings: 6

Spanish black sausage is similar to the French one but it has a coarser texture, it is worthwhile hunting down the Spanish variety if you can otherwise go for the French variety. This stew is very much a winter dish is many stews are but if you wish to make a lighter version more suitable for the summer months use fresh broad beans. It is also delicious served cold in the summer with lots of mint and a fresh slices of bread and salad leaves. The mint gives the dish a lift lightening and complementing the stew.

Stew:
500g large white beans, soaked in water over night. In the summer months you may be lucky enough to get hold of fresh broad beans that will make a light alternative. These do not soaking or precooking and you will need another 100g..
4 slices of thick cut bacon (1-1.5cm thick), 1 slices left whole and 3 diced
2 Spanish black sausage, one sliced and one left whole
2 chorizo sausages, one sliced and one left whole
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
2 bay leaves
4 tbsp mint leaves, finely chopped
1 tsp caster sugar
100ml dry white sherry
250-300ml water or vegetable stock
To Serve:
1 tbsp mint leaves, shredded
pinch paprika

Beans:
Cook the dried beans that have been soaked over night in a saucepan with the 1-1.2 litres of water. Bring the water to the boil, then reduce it to a steady simmer.

Cook the beans for 50-60 minutes until they are almost tender. Drain the beans and set aside until ready to use.

Stew:
Heat the oil in a casserole pan over a moderate heat. Add the sliced sausages to the pan, cook them for a minute sealing them on both sides and remove them from the pan. Set them aside until ready to use.

Add the onion to the casserole pan with the oil from cooking the sausages and saut it over a moderate-high heat until it is slightly brown. Add the garlic and diced bacon and cook them for a further minute. Stir in the broad beans and saut them for 2-3 minutes mixing them regularly.

Add the bay leaves, mint, sugar, the whole Spanish black sausage, chorizo sausage and bacon slice to the pan. Pour over the sherry and enough water to just cover the beans.

Bring it to a boil and reduce it to a steady simmer. Leave it to cook for 30 minutes until the beans are tender and most of the liquid has evaporated.

Add the cooked chorizo and black sausage to the casserole and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Remove the whole bacon slice, chorizo sausage and black sausage from the stew. Slice them each into four even pieces.

To Serve:
Distribute the stew among 4 bowls, place a slice of piece of bacon, chorizo and black sausage in the centre if each serving. Scatter the mint leaves around the dish and sprinkle over a little paprika. Serve.