Fabes with cod and clams

By the photo of the recipe you can see that it is impossible that the dish was not delicious, some beans with clams and cod . Other than the classic  Fabes with clams or “Fabes with amasueles”  in the Asturian style but with all its flavor. And I say different because the dish I have prepared with a smaller variety called “ Faba de la cena del cura ” and the cooking (although it was scaring the fabe), goes with an initial softened pochadito. This dish with an Asturian touch is full of sea flavors. We have used cod and its skin to give the broth a bit of sweetness, the beans (fabes) and the clams (amasueles), which wisely mixed in a casserole are impressive.

The raw material that I used for these beans or beans were of quality, a very simple stew, a little laborious for the type of cooking but that can be done by any cooker that starts in the kitchen. We find beans of many kinds, round, used for pots or with cabbage, pints, for braising, black, yellow, … all legumes harvested with care and that we must remember to eat in our weekly diet, it is a pillar of our much-loved diet Mediterranean.

” La cena de cura ” is a variety of legumes that I have not tried so far, the most delicate I have tried. A very tasty vanilla yellow bean, small, fine and very delicate. On my last visit to Asturias I bought them by chance in Villaviciosa, their name caught my attention and when I asked the lady who sold them she told me that they were called that because they were highly valued and in the past due to their high price their purchase was only for her They could allow priests for dinner, I don’t know if it’s true but I found it very curious. To make this recipe, the quality of the ingredients, having a good casserole, care and a lot of love are very important. So I assure you that it is impossible for you to go wrong. I hope you cheer up with these fabes! They will brighten your day!

Before cooking

1. One of the key points is the choice of beans. In this case we have used the variety “cura’s dinner”.
2. We spread the beans on a flat surface and discard those that are damaged. We wash them to remove impurities.
3. We leave them in a bowl with cold water to soak overnight, usually 12 hours. It is not necessary to add salt at the time of soaking. The next day we drain them and set aside until it is time to prepare them.
4. I have received an email from a friend, Elvira Medina, she recommends the following question in les fabes with clams that I will follow rigorously in the next preparation: “I am Asturian and at home I always saw them put soaks with cold fish stock. the previous day. It totally changes the flavor of putting them to soak in fish broth to simply put them in water or even cook them with fish stock. ”

Preparation of the beans with cod and clams

1. This recipe is super easy to prepare although it is important to choose the ingredients well, they have to be of great quality. For this we add in a casserole, if possible low and wide, a good jet of extra virgin olive oil and fry all the vegetables that we have previously minced very thin (onion, garlic and pepper). Let it fry for 10 minutes over medium heat. We add a little salt to make our vegetables sweat.
2. We cut the cod into strips and spend 2 minutes with the vegetables, we want them to add some of their flavor and the skin to release some gelatin. We remove the cod to a plate and reserve for almost the end of cooking.
3. We put the beans in the casserole and combine with the vegetables. We pour a good broth of fish or seafood ( a good monkfish fumet that is not even painted) and cover with that broth until there are a couple of fingers above them.
4. Stir again to bring everything together and heat over high heat until it starts to boil.
5. Grate the tomatoes and add to the beans as soon as it starts to boil, mix well. If we see that it foams, we remove it with a slotted spoon.
6. When it takes half an hour, we lower the cooking temperature and add salt to taste. It is important to try the broth, we should not add a lot of salt because the clams are salty and we can go from the optimum point, better to leave them a little bland.
7. We let the beans cook slowly at low temperature for 2 hours, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon without breaking them, when they have been an hour, we remove from the pot those beans that we see that they have broken, we pass it all through the mixer with a little broth and we put it back into the casserole.
8. During these two hours of cooking, we add cold water twice to “scare” the beans (it breaks the boil and helps them to cook perfectly). We test the beans to see if they are already tender, once tasted and tender remove from the heat and introduce the cod, stir and let stand a little, with the same heat as the casserole the cod will be made. Meanwhile we prepare the clams.

Preparation of clams and plating

It is essential to remove the sand that clams usually bring so that the recipe does not spoil us. It is convenient to have them about three hours before cooking them in water in a saucepan or large plastic container. We must add water, a good handful of coarse salt and change them three or four times the water. The clams drink and usually drop a lot of sand, do not panic because it is a sign that the clam is of good quality.

Try to buy the live clams and cook them the same day that you are going to have the food. This takes advantage of the good quality of the clam and at lunchtime it will be ready.

1. So that they come out delicious I advise you to do them when we have the beans ready. Some of them do not usually open and we will have to throw them away, also those that are broken.
2. To steam them, we wash the clams very well in cold water and remove all the impurities. We introduce half a glass of white wine and let it boil.
3. We leave them cooking covered for about 1 minute over high heat and, as soon as they are all open, we add them directly to the casserole with the beans, that simple. We strain the broth that the clams have released when boiling and we also add the beans.
4. Now yes, we test the salt point and remove everything carefully without breaking the beans. We serve directly to a deep plate and enjoy. Gastronomic tribute where there is.

These “dinner of the priest” beans should be made the day before consumption because in this way, as with all vegetable stews, they will be fresh and much richer. If we also make them over low heat in a good casserole, as was done in the past, I assure you that the result is fabulous!

Be sure to enjoy all the recipes for fish and seafood that we have on the blog, I assure you that you will find a lot of ideas to make yours much happier.

Tips and recommendations for this recipe

• If you really want good beans, you have to pay for them, almost everything you see at a low price or on sale is usually second-rate. Once purchased, it is convenient to choose them, in case they have any pebbles or leaves, and you must discard those that are broken. Do not throw them away, you keep them and for stewing and mashing they are very good.
• If you want to have the guarantee that they last for a long time and do not have a “bug”, the best thing of all is to freeze them and as they need to be taken out. You can also take them out once you have had them in the freezer for a couple of days.
• If you want to enjoy them before and after eating them, it is to prevent them from producing gases. There is nothing more uncomfortable than feeling bloated and even more uncomfortable to have gases, because if you add some cumin grains to the cooking you will avoid those flautulences … so annoying.