Black Beans from El Fronton Recipe
by Maria Jose Sevilla
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Easy
In Guipúzcoa, 16 miles east of San Sebastián, is the town of Tolosa which is renowned, amongst other things, for a dish of alubias negras (black beans) grown in the local area. Not so long ago, these beans were included in the daily diet of farmers. Now, they are a delicacy that needs to be tasted in order to understand the reasons behind their popularity.
Definitely not light and summary, these beans make a rich dish. It is a serious Basque dish cooked with plenty of care and attention. Roberto Ruiz, chef at the El Fronton restaurant in Tolosa, is famed for making unbelievably good alubias. He uses the typical ingredients and yet somehow his alubias are lighter and even more delicious than the traditional recipe, if that were possible. ‘Cooking the beans well is what it really matters,’ he says. The beans, which are intensely black, can be cooked without soaking as long as they are from the last season’s crop, otherwise they need to be soaked for a number of hours. In the UK, they can be purchased from Spanish food specialists or online. I always bring some home every year when returning to England by ferry from Bilbao. Replicating Roberto’s recipe without the correct ingredients is a challenge, especially the morcilla (black pudding/blood sausage). I love morcilla from Olano in the province of Alava, made with pig’s blood, pork fat, onions, leeks, oregano and salt. It is difficult to buy outside the Basque Country, but I have found an excellent black pudding made in Scotland, which I buy from my local butcher in Wimbledon, London.
Although it is less traditional, I often serve this dish with young greens instead of cabbage.
Black Beans from El Fronton Recipe Serves: 4
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500g Tolosana black beans
- 5 tablespoons Spanish extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 250g morcilla (black pudding/blood sausage) with natural casing
- 1⁄2 large Savoy cabbage, washed, sliced and cut into thin strips
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- piparras chillies, to serve
- coarse sea salt, taste
How to make Black Beans from El Fronton Recipe
- Put the beans into a deep saucepan or pot with two handles. Pour in enough water to cover the beans, then bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat, add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and cook for 2 hours, or until the beans are tender. During the cooking time, add half a glass of cold water 3 or 4 times to the pan or pot to slow down the cooking process. Season with salt only when the beans are cooked, never before. Do not stir the beans during cooking, instead shake the pan from time to time to ensure the beans remain unbroken. (If you serve broken beans, Basques will know that you don’t know how to cook them!)
- To prepare the black pudding/blood sausage, bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Reduce the heat and add the black pudding to warm through. Using a sharp knife, make small incisions along the black pudding and, without breaking it apart, carefully cut it into slices.
- Blanch the cabbage for a couple of minutes in pan of boiling water, then drain. Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a frying pan, add the garlic and sauté until it takes on a little colour. Add the cabbage to the pan and sauté for a minute or two.
- When ready to serve, ladle the beans into deep soup plates, then divide the cabbage and black pudding between the bowls. Serve the piparras chillies alongside, drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with a pinch of coarse sea salt.
