Chef Isabel
Fabada Asturiana
Fabada Asturiana is Asturias in a pot: fat fabes de la granja, cured compango, and a slow tremble on the stove until the beans turn creamy and the broth shines.
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Fabes con Calamares
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Fabes con calamares is Asturian sidrería cooking: creamy fabes de la granja with squid, ink, cider, and a slow sofrito. Keep the beans at a bare tremble and the squid stays tender.
Soups & Stews
Spanish
Comfort Food
One Pot
Budget Friendly
30 min
Active Time
2 hr 45 min cook•15 hr 15 min total
Yield6 servings
Fabes con calamares is Asturian, from the same wet northern table that gives us fabada, but this is not fabada with the meat taken out. Here the fabes de la granja, fat white beans, meet squid, its ink, a slow onion sofrito, and a little sidra or white wine. It tastes of Asturias by the sea, not the mountain pot with compango.
The method that decides it is gentleness. The beans need a bare tremble, never a boil, until they turn creamy without bursting. The squid wants the same respect: cooked either quickly or slowly, but never bullied in the middle where it turns rubbery. In this stew we go slow, letting it soften into the sofrito before it joins the beans.
If you can't find fabes where you are, use a large dried white bean, judion if you can, cannellini if that's what the shop gives you. The broth will be a little less buttery, but it will still be honest. For the squid, frozen cleaned squid is fine, and often better than tired fresh squid. Keep the ink if you have it, or buy sachets of squid ink. No hace falta haber pisado España.
Cook the sofrito low until the onion is dark gold and jammy, because that is where the sweetness comes from. Rush it and the ink tastes flat and sharp. Then let the pot rest before serving, so the fabes drink the sea-dark sauce. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Fabes with seafood belong naturally to Asturias, where the inland bean pot meets the Cantabrian coast and the sidrería table. The same prized faba asturiana used for meat stews is also cooked with clams, spider crab, squid, and other shellfish when the coast gives the pot its seasoning instead of the matanza. Squid ink is not decoration here; it thickens, darkens, and carries the sweet mineral taste of the calamar into the beans.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
dried fabes de la granja or large dried white beans
Quantity
500g
soaked overnight
cleaned squid
Quantity
1.1kg
bodies cut into 2cm rings, tentacles left in pieces
squid ink
Quantity
3 sachets, about 12g total
or ink from the squid
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
80ml
onion
Quantity
250g
finely chopped
green pepper
Quantity
120g
finely chopped
garlic
Quantity
4 cloves
finely chopped
ripe tomato
Quantity
150g
grated, or 120g canned crushed tomato
sweet pimenton de la Vera
Quantity
1 teaspoon
dry Asturian sidra or dry white wine
Quantity
150ml
bay leaf
Quantity
1
parsley
Quantity
1 small sprig, plus 1 tablespoon
chopped to finish
cold water
Quantity
1.8 litres, plus more as needed
fine sea salt
Quantity
to taste
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| dried fabes de la granja or large dried white beanssoaked overnight | 500g |
| cleaned squidbodies cut into 2cm rings, tentacles left in pieces | 1.1kg |
| squid inkor ink from the squid | 3 sachets, about 12g total |
| extra virgin olive oil | 80ml |
| onionfinely chopped | 250g |
| green pepperfinely chopped | 120g |
| garlicfinely chopped | 4 cloves |
| ripe tomatograted, or 120g canned crushed tomato | 150g |
| sweet pimenton de la Vera | 1 teaspoon |
| dry Asturian sidra or dry white wine | 150ml |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| parsleychopped to finish | 1 small sprig, plus 1 tablespoon |
| cold water | 1.8 litres, plus more as needed |
| fine sea salt | to taste |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide heavy pot or olla, 5 to 6 litres
- •Wide saute pan
- •Skimming spoon
- •Wooden spoon
- •Small bowl for dissolving squid ink
Instructions
- 1
Soak the fabes
The night before, cover the fabes with plenty of cold water and leave them to soak 12 hours. Drain them, put them in a wide heavy pot, and cover with 1.8 litres fresh cold water. Add the bay leaf and parsley sprig, then bring them up slowly over medium-low heat.
Pésalo, no lo adivines. Beans change a great deal once soaked, so weigh them dry before they go into the water. - 2
Cook very gently
When the first foam rises, skim it off. Lower the heat until the surface barely trembles and cook the fabes for 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours, until they are almost tender but not collapsing. If the water drops below the beans, add a small splash of cold water. Do not stir with a spoon; shake the pot by the handles.
- 3
Build the sofrito
While the beans cook, warm the olive oil in a wide pan. Add the onion, green pepper, and a pinch of salt, and cook over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is dark gold and soft. Add the garlic and cook 2 minutes more. This slow onion base, the sofrito, is where the sweetness comes from.
- 4
Cook the squid
Add the squid to the sofrito and raise the heat to medium. Cook 5 minutes, until it gives off its liquid and tightens, then add the grated tomato. Cook 10 minutes, until the tomato is thick and the oil shows at the edges. Stir in the pimenton for 20 seconds, then pour in the sidra or white wine and let it bubble for 3 minutes.
- 5
Add the ink
Mash the squid ink with 3 tablespoons of warm bean cooking liquid in a small bowl, then stir it into the squid pan. Simmer gently for 20 minutes, until the squid starts to soften and the sauce turns black and glossy. Taste for salt, but keep it light because the beans will reduce a little more.
- 6
Join the pots
When the fabes are almost tender, remove the bay leaf and parsley sprig. Scrape the squid and its ink sauce into the bean pot. Shake the pot gently to settle everything together and continue cooking at the barest tremble for 25 to 35 minutes, until the beans are creamy and the squid is tender. If the stew thickens too much, loosen it with a splash of hot water.
- 7
Rest and serve
Turn off the heat and let the stew rest 15 minutes. The broth will settle from black to a deep charcoal gloss and cling to the beans. Taste once more for salt, finish with chopped parsley, and serve in deep bowls with bread for the sauce. Con buenos ingredientes y paciencia, this is cocina de cuchara, spoon food, tal como se hace allí.
Chef Tips
- •Fabes de la granja are worth buying if you can find them. If not, use judion, corona beans, or good cannellini. Cannellini cook a little faster and give a less buttery broth, so start checking them early.
- •Frozen squid is no shame here. Thaw it slowly in the refrigerator and dry it well before it hits the pan. Tired fresh squid from a poor fish counter is worse than good frozen squid.
- •Use real squid ink, from the squid or bought in sachets. It should taste briny and sweet, not metallic. Stir it into warm liquid first so it spreads evenly through the stew.
- •Do not boil the pot after the squid joins the beans. A hard boil breaks the fabes and makes the squid tough. A lazy tremble is the whole trick.
- •Asturian sidra is right with this. If you can't get it, use a dry white wine with good acidity, not anything sweet.
Advance Preparation
- •Soak the fabes 12 hours ahead in plenty of cold water.
- •The stew is very good made a day ahead. Cool it quickly, refrigerate covered, and reheat over low heat with a splash of water, shaking the pot rather than stirring hard.
- •The sofrito and squid ink sauce can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. Add it to the beans once they are almost tender.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 550g)
Calories
595 calories
Total Fat
16 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
13 g
Cholesterol
430 mg
Sodium
900 mg
Total Carbohydrates
64 g
Dietary Fiber
14 g
Sugars
5 g
Protein
48 g
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