Chorizo and Bean Stew

Once a month, a group of our friends get together for Film Club, where we take it in turns to choose a film and food.  We don’t get together all that often, so it always feels like a bit of an occasion.

It was the first really beautiful Sunday of the year, so we were all keen to get outside to catch the last of the early evening sun and not be confined to the kitchen.  This called for something low maintenance that could feed many mouths with minimal effort.  We put this stew together in about 15 minutes and then left it on a low heat on the hob for an hour or so.

We sat on the roof with blankets and a couple of bottles of Cava.  One of us went inside to check the food every twenty minutes or so.  The climb from the window onto the roof is about as undignified as you can get, and a couple of us were left with some interesting bruises...  But it was absolutely worth it, because early in the evening, Venus and Jupiter appeared in the sky unexpectedly.  The sky was clear and our roof is south facing, so the view was perfect.

Fed 6 for dinner: Approx. 85p per person, per dinner.

Shopping List

Chorizo Ring £2

Black Eye Beans 45p

Butter Beans 45p

Pinto Beans 77p

Chickpeas 53p

1 Carton Passata 29p

1 Tin Chopped Tomatoes 59p

1 Large Onion

Total £5.08

Store Cupboard

Sweet Paprika

Chilli Flakes

Sugar

• Finely chop the onion and fry it in a little olive oil.  Use a large, heavy bottomed pan.

• Chop the chorizo, and add to the onion.

• Add one dessert spoon of paprika, and one of chilli.

• Allow these ingredients to cook alone for a few minutes, before adding the drained and rinsed beans.

• Stir all of this together, then add the passata and chopped tomatoes.

• Add a teaspoon of sugar and stir, then taste.  If it needs more chilli, add it now

• Give it a quick stir, then turn the heat as low as possible.  Leave the stew with the lid on, and allow to simmer gently for about an hour

We served it with chunky bread, which Dave and Sara brought with them.  It was definitely adequate, although a green salad wouldn’t have gone amiss.  We thought we had had an accident with the chilli – to begin with it tasted excessively hot.  After an hour of cooking though, the heat had lost intensity.  The sugar definitely helped to bring out the flavours.  Some chopped, fresh parsley would have been a good addition.