Fabes con Pixín

Fabes con pixín is Asturian: the same fat white fabes de la granja that carry fabada, but turned toward the Cantabrian sea with pixín, monkfish, instead of compango. Esto es de Asturias, no de "España" a secas. The bean is still the backbone, creamy and quiet; the fish gives it clean strength, and the sidra sofrito, the slow onion base cooked with Asturian cider, gives the pot its northern bite.

The part that decides it is the order. Cook the fabes until tender at a bare tremble, with no spoon stirring, then slip the monkfish in at the end. Monkfish is firm, but it isn't a cured sausage. Boil it for half an hour and you get rope. Five minutes in the glossy broth, then a rest, and it stays pearly and sweet.

If you can't find pixín, buy monkfish tail sold as rape or monkfish; that is the same fish with another name. If there is no monkfish, a thick hake loin or halibut will do, but add it for only three or four minutes because it flakes sooner. For the beans, use judión or good cannellini when fabes de la granja are out of reach; the broth will be a little less buttery, not ruined. No hace falta haber pisado España.

In the Margin beside this one I wrote only: "el pescado al final," the fish at the end. It sounds too plain to be useful, until you taste the pot when you have followed it. This is cocina de cuchara, spoon food, from the coast. Con buenos ingredientes y paciencia, it comes out.