Chorizo, Tomato and Chilli Bean Stew
I came across this little gem of a recipe several years ago when I was preparing for our wedding. I was on a mission to lose weight and coupled with regular gym sessions, I followed the Weightwatchers Points system. Believe it or not, this recipe is inspired from Weightwatchers. I have adapted for my own taste buds but the core ingredients remain true to the original recipe. I continue to be surprised at how creative and tasty some of their recipes can be. Who would have thought chorizo would be used in one of their recipes?
This recipe can also be used as a quick mid-week meal when you don’t have a lot in the fridge as it relies on a few staples in your store cupboard. It’s one of our favourite mid-week meals as the intense flavour grips you from the first bite. As the colder months approach, we tend to rely on this recipe more and more frequently as it “warms the cockles of your heart” as my dad keeps telling me!
A classic dish to heat you up in the Autumn/Winter nights. Very simple to prepare and made in a matter of minutes. If you feel the dish is too "bean heavy", adjust the amount of red kidney beans according to your taste.
Ingredients
- 400g of fresh plum tomatoes, or, 400g tin of chopped, plum tomatoes
- 2 red chilli peppers (including seeds), chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, pressed
- 2 small onions or 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 tbsp of mixed herbs
- 100ml of water
- 400g of kidney beans, (drained)
- 400g of butter beans, (drained)
- 150g of chorizo sausage, thinly sliced
- Freshly ground pepper for seasoning
- A generous bunch of coriander
Instructions
- Cut the tomatoes in half and place in a blender with the mixed herbs to make a sauce.
- In a saucepan sauté the onions in olive oil for about 4 minutes, then add the chilli and the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Pour the tomato sauce into the saucepan with 100ml of water and bring to the boil.
- Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Add the chorizo, butter and chilli beans and cook for a further 15 minutes. You want the sauce to be reduced so leave the lid off.
- When you are happy with the consistency, serve up in a bowl and garnish with lots of fresh chopped coriander. A side order of crusty bread is always nice to mop up this most fragrant of stews.
Notes
If you are not a fan of spicy dishes, reduce the amount of chilli pepper.
Obviously if you don’t have fresh tomatoes in the fridge, replace with a tin of chopped plum peel tomatoes. It works just as well.
I prefer the stew to be quite thick so I reduce it as much as possible. However, if you are looking for more of a soup consistency just remove from the heat when you reach the desired viscosity.
If you have a bowl of the hot stuff you’ll keep the cold at bay. Nothing could be simpler to make.
A bowl of the hot stuff to keep the cold at bay
What classic dishes do you prepare to heat you up as the temperature plummets?
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I’m entering this into Karen’s Herbs on a Saturday challenge over on Lavender and Lovage
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Mmm, sounds and looks yummy. I do a dish with butterbeans, vegetables and chorizo which is good so would love to try your more chillified dish and the coriander addition sounds delicious too! I have a little Weightwatchers paperback book and although I’ve never followed their diet I have used the book for many recipes which as you say are surprisingly delicious!
Oh thanks Camilla. You always make the nicest comments. The coriander just freshens up a very intense dish. Yes, Weightwatchers wouldn’t be my first resource for recipes but it’s good when you find a classic like this one.
This is perfect. I love my pulses and eat lots of them. I often make a kind of variation of this dish myself, but I do love the idea of adding coriander for freshness as well as a bit of chopped chilli for me!
Thanks Laura – it works a treat!
Sausage and beans and vegetables are definitely a favourite combination of mine! This stew looks delicious on a cold rainy day.
Thanks Michelle, it’s been raining here for a few days and the temperature has dipped so it was the perfect remedy
I love chorizo. It is such versatile sausage and I’m sure that this stew tastes delicious. I prefer simmering my tomato sauce for a long time (like you!) because I do not like the sharp flavour of raw tomatoes. I will try this one out very soon ( it’s foggy and windy! the perfect weather for comfort food). I will substitute kidney beans with borlotti beans (I’m not a kidney beans fan…)
Thanks Rita. Lovely idea to substitute with borlotti beans – let me know how you get on
Now that will be so perfect for today! All I need is some crusty bread.
Thanks Kankana. Crusty bread is a perfect accompaniment!
This is so wonderful. I think, that will save me one day soon as I have already some chorizo at home waiting to be used. That for sure will be something very delicious. Thank you for sharing this, Jacqueline!
Thanks Chris. Chorizo is one of my fridge essential ingredients – it’s smokiness can really transform a dish. I’d love to know if you try the recipe!
Looking out at the miserable weather I know what to make sure dinner! This looks delicious and I like the added heat from the chilli as well!
Thanks Petra! The grim weather was getting me down so it seemed the perfect remedy
Another GLORIOUS recipe and thanks so much for entering it onto Herbs on Saturday – certainly warms the cockles of my heart just looking at it! Karen
Thanks Karen
xx
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