Spanish recipe

Fabada Asturiana

Name: Fabada Asturiana
Prep time: 8 h 20 min
Cook time: 2 h 45 min
Total time: 11 h 5 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Spanish cuisine
Ingredients: 400 g dried Asturian fabes or other large thin-skinned white beans; 200 g Asturian chorizo; 200 g Asturian morcilla; 200 g lacón or cured pork shoulder; 100 g slab pancetta or streaky bacon; 150 g yellow onion, peeled and left whole; 0.1 g saffron threads; 2.5 L cold water, plus more for soaking; 4 g fine salt, plus more only after tasting

Asturias’s famous bean stew slowly cooks large white fabes with cured pork, chorizo, morcilla and saffron until the beans are buttery and the broth naturally creamy. The pot is moved gently rather than stirred, then rests before serving so the starch and pork juices settle together.

Asturias, Spain

Prep: 8 hr 20 min
Cook: 2 hr 45 min
Total: 11 hr 5 min
Servings: 4

Asturian fabada with creamy white beans, chorizo, morcilla and cured pork — **Real finished-dish photograph**Photograph by Juan J. Martínez from Valencia, EspañaSource page · Original file · CC BY-SA 2.0Cropped, resized, and compressed by Recipe Nest Vault.

Ingredients

400 g
dried Asturian fabes or other large thin-skinned white beans
200 g
Asturian chorizo
200 g
Asturian morcilla
200 g
lacón or cured pork shoulder
100 g
slab pancetta or streaky bacon
150 g
yellow onion, peeled and left whole
0.1 g
saffron threads
2.5 L
cold water, plus more for soaking
4 g
fine salt, plus more only after tasting

Method

01
Soak the beans and cured pork
Cover the beans generously with cold water and soak for 8 hours. In a separate bowl, soak the lacón and pancetta in lukewarm water for the same 8 hours to remove excess surface salt. Drain both before cooking.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
02
Bring the beans up slowly and skim
Put the drained beans in a wide heavy pot with the whole onion and 2.5 L cold water. Bring gradually to a boil over about 20 minutes. Skim foam from the surface, then reduce immediately to the gentlest steady simmer.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
03
Slow-cook with lacón and pancetta
Add the soaked lacón and pancetta. Partially cover and simmer very gently for 1 hour 45 minutes. Every 30 minutes, move the pot in a small circular motion instead of stirring; if the beans become exposed, add just enough cold water to cover them again.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
04
Add saffron, chorizo and morcilla
Crush the saffron between your fingers and add it with the whole chorizo and morcilla. Simmer another 25–30 minutes, still very gently, until the beans are buttery all the way through and the sausages are hot at the centre.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
05
Adjust the broth and remove the onion
Taste only after the cured meats have finished seasoning the pot. Add up to 4 g salt if needed. Remove the whole onion. If the broth is thin, simmer uncovered 5–10 minutes; if it is already creamy enough to coat the beans lightly, leave it as it is.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
06
Rest, slice the compango and serve
Remove the pot from the heat and rest 30 minutes. Lift out the lacón, pancetta, chorizo and morcilla, cut them into serving pieces, then either return them to the beans or serve them alongside. Rewarm gently if the stew falls below serving temperature.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph

Practical notes

Tips

Keep the pot at a lazy simmer rather than a hard boil so beans, meat and vegetables stay intact while the broth develops.
Add ingredients according to how long they need: long-cooking meats and legumes first, tender vegetables and sausages later.

Common mistakes

Salting heavily before cured meats have seasoned the broth can make the finished stew too salty; adjust near the end.
Stirring delicate beans aggressively breaks their skins and muddies the broth; move the pot gently instead.

Substitutions

For regional beans that are unavailable, choose a similarly large, thin-skinned dried white bean and soak it fully before cooking.
When replacing a cured meat or sausage, match both smoke level and saltiness, then season the broth only after tasting.

Storage

Cool leftovers promptly and refrigerate within 2 hours at 0–4°C for up to 3 days. Reheat only the portion needed until piping hot throughout.

Cultural context

Fabada Asturiana depends on fabes and compango, the group of Asturian pork products such as chorizo, morcilla, lacón and bacon. Resting the stew is part of the texture: the bean starch thickens the broth without flour.

Sources and photo credit

This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.

Recipe references

Fabada en cazuela de barro — Photograph by Juan J. Martínez from Valencia, España; CC BY-SA 2.0.

Step illustrations: Original illustrations created by Recipe Nest Vault with OpenAI image_gen.

Back to Spanish recipes

Fabada Asturiana

Ingredients

Method

Soak the beans and cured pork

Bring the beans up slowly and skim

Slow-cook with lacón and pancetta

Add saffron, chorizo and morcilla

Adjust the broth and remove the onion

Rest, slice the compango and serve

Sources and photo credit

Recipe references

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