A few years ago I was lucky enough to go on a cycling tour in Spain with a few mates where we followed the Ebro River from it's source, down into the famous Rioja wine region. We always went for the 'menú del día' as this seemed to offer the best value food for hungry cyclists. The only slight issue was that none of us spoke any Spanish (other than "cerveza").  At our first lunch stop, we confidently strode in and ordered the menú del día, which the polite waitress in the quiet restaurant then announced to us in machine-gun Spanish! After some comedy linguistic charades we waited for our mystery meal to arrive. To my absolute joy, we were presented with a glorious bowl of hot stew full of stunning chorizo sausage, potatoes and beans. It was epic.

This recipe is my homage to that meal - and to the Rioja where we ate and drank the most fabulous food.

Ingredients for the Spanish Chorizo, Potato & Bean Stew
Serves 4-6
1 Pack Soft Cooking Chorizo, remove the skins and slice into 4 pieces
2 x White Onions, thinly sliced
5 x Cloves Garlic, sliced
2 x Red Peppers, thinly sliced
2 x Fresh Tomatoes, chopped
1 x Fresh Bay Leaf
1tsp Hot Smoked Paprika or Sweet Smoked Paprika (decide how much chilli heat you want here)
2tbsp Sherry Vinegar
6 x Medium Sized Potatoes, peeled and quartered
1Ltr Somerset Foodie Chicken Stock
2 x Jars Spanish White Beans
1 x Bunch Fresh Parsley, picked and chopped
Good splash of Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil

It’s really important to spend the time at the start of this recipe to cook down the onions, peppers and garlic for at least 10 minutes in a good splash of rapeseed oil. The onions should be nice and golden, but make sure they don’t burn.

Now add the chunks of soft cooking chorizo and the fresh bay leaf and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes. The chorizo will release amazing tasting oil into your pan as it cooks.

Add the smoked paprika, mix it through, then splash in the sherry vinegar and throw in the fresh tomatoes. Cook this down for another 4-5 minutes and then add in the quartered potatoes. Mix these through to coat them in all those beautiful cooking juices and then cover everything with the chicken stock. Bring this to a gentle simmer and leave (without a lid) for around half an hour. You want the potatoes to cook through and the liquid to reduce, intensifying all the flavours.

After half an hour, check that the potatoes are soft and then add in the white beans. Bring back to a simmer to warm the beans through and that’s it.

Serve your stew with a scatter of fresh parsley, a drizzle of oil and hunk of lovely bread. Beautiful.

Foodies - don't forget to tag us in your social posts and leave some feedback below when you cook this at home! Enjoy, Ben.

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