2616. RED BEAN, CHORIZO and BACON STEW

100 grams dried beans
60 grams bacon
50 grams chorizo sausage
1 onion
1 carrot
1 leek
olive oil
salt

Place the beans, diced bacon, chopped onion, carrot and leek and a few drops of olive oil into a saucepan season with salt. Cover with water and bring to the boil and then simmer for about an hour and a half before adding the chopped chorizo. Continue boiling until the beans are well cooked (this depends on the variety of red beans you are using). This should be at least an hour and 40 minutes.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Euroresidentes.com, Spain

2610. RED BEAN and BACON SOUP

makes about 12 cups, serving 6 to 8 1/2 pound lean bacon (about 8 slices), cut into 1/2-inches pieces 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion 2 large garlic cloves 1 bay leaf 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cuminseed 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste 1 1/2 cups chopped celery 1 1/2 cups chopped carrot 1 pound red beans such as kidney or pinto, soaked in enough cold water to cover them by 2 inches overnight or quick-soaked (procedure follows) and drained 4 cups chicken broth plus, if desired, additional for thinning the soup a 28-ounce can Italian tomatoes, drained, reserving the juice, and chopped 1/2 cup medium-dry Sherry chopped scallion greens as an accompaniment sour cream as an accompaniment In a heavy kettle cook the bacon over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until it is crisp, transfer it to paper towels to drain, and reserve it. Pour off all but 1/4 cup of the fat and in the remaining fat cook the onion, the garlic, the bay leaf, the chili powder, the cuminseed, and the cayenne, stirring, until the onion is softened. Add the celery, the carrot, the beans, 4 cups of the broth, and 2 cups water and simmer the soup, covered, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the beans are tender. Add the tomatoes with the reserved juice and simmer the soup, covered, for 20 minutes. Discard the bay leaf and force the soup in batches through a food mill into a large saucepan. Stir in the Sherry, salt and pepper to taste, and the additional broth or water to thin the soup to the desired consistency, simmer the soup for 5 minutes, and serve it with the reserved bacon, the scallion greens, and the sour cream. To quick-soak dried beans: In a colander rinse the beans under cold water and discard any discolored ones. In a kettle combine the beans with enough cold water to cover them by 2 inches, bring the water to a boil, and boil the beans for 2 minutes. Remove the kettle from the heat and let the beans soak, covered, for 1 hour. bacon recipe courtesy of: Gourmet, March 1991