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 Pixín
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Asturias gives the faba a sea pot here: creamy fabes de la granja, monkfish called pixín, and a sidra sofrito. Cook the beans gently, then add the fish last.
Soups & Stews
Spanish
Comfort Food
Special Occasion
One Pot
25 min
Active Time
2 hr 45 min cook•11 hr 10 min total
Yield4 to 6 servings
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.
Fabes con pixín belongs to Asturias, where the inland bean fields and the Cantabrian fishing ports sit close enough to meet in the same pot. Pixín is the Asturian name for monkfish, a firm-fleshed fish used in stews because it holds its shape better than more delicate fish from the coast. Unlike fabada Asturiana, whose flavor comes from the cured compango of the matanza, this version takes its depth from fish stock, sidra natural, and a slow sofrito, so the faba remains the dish's body while the sea gives the broth its edge.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
dried fabes de la granja
Quantity
450g
soaked overnight
cleaned monkfish tail meat (pixín or rape)
Quantity
750g
skin and grey membrane removed, cut into 4cm pieces
light fish stock
Quantity
1.5L
cold, preferably unsalted
Asturian sidra natural or dry hard cider
Quantity
120ml
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
80ml, plus 1 tablespoon to finish
onion
Quantity
180g
finely chopped
leek white part
Quantity
100g
finely chopped
garlic
Quantity
3 cloves
finely chopped
ripe tomato or canned crushed tomato
Quantity
150g fresh or 120g canned
grated if fresh
sweet pimentón de la Vera
Quantity
1 teaspoon
saffron threads (optional)
Quantity
1 pinch
bay leaf
Quantity
1
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
10g
chopped
salt
Quantity
to taste
cold water (optional)
Quantity
as needed
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| dried fabes de la granjasoaked overnight | 450g |
| cleaned monkfish tail meat (pixín or rape)skin and grey membrane removed, cut into 4cm pieces | 750g |
| light fish stockcold, preferably unsalted | 1.5L |
| Asturian sidra natural or dry hard cider | 120ml |
| extra virgin olive oil | 80ml, plus 1 tablespoon to finish |
| onionfinely chopped | 180g |
| leek white partfinely chopped | 100g |
| garlicfinely chopped | 3 cloves |
| ripe tomato or canned crushed tomatograted if fresh | 150g fresh or 120g canned |
| sweet pimentón de la Vera | 1 teaspoon |
| saffron threads (optional) | 1 pinch |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| flat-leaf parsleychopped | 10g |
| salt | to taste |
| cold water (optional) | as needed |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide heavy pot or olla, 4 to 5 liters
- •Skimming spoon
- •Fine grater for the tomato
Instructions
- 1
Soak the fabes
Put the fabes in a large bowl and cover them with plenty of cold water by at least 6cm. Soak 8 to 12 hours, then drain. Pésalo, no lo adivines: old or tiny beans cook unevenly here, and this dish wants large beans that turn creamy without collapsing.
If you are using judión or cannellini instead of fabes de la granja, soak them the same way and start checking tenderness a little earlier. The broth will be a touch less buttery. - 2
Cook the sofrito
Warm the olive oil in a wide, heavy pot over low heat. Add the onion, leek, and a pinch of salt, and cook slowly for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring now and then, until they are dark gold, soft, and almost jammy. Add the garlic for 2 minutes, then the tomato, and cook until the liquid is gone and the oil shows at the edges. This slow sofrito, the onion base, is where the sweetness comes from.
- 3
Add sidra and beans
Take the pot off the heat and stir in the pimentón and saffron, if using, just until they smell warm, not scorched. Add the sidra, return the pot to the heat, and let it reduce by half. Add the drained fabes, bay leaf, and cold fish stock. The liquid should cover the beans by about 3cm; add cold water if it does not.
- 4
Hold a low tremble
Bring the pot up slowly, skimming any foam that rises, then lower the heat until the surface barely trembles. Cook 2 to 2 1/2 hours, depending on the beans, adding small splashes of cold water if the top dries out. Do not stir with a spoon; shake the pot by the handles. Salt only when the beans are nearly tender, because salted skins can toughen before the insides soften.
- 5
Thicken the broth
When the fabes are tender all the way through, scoop out about 100g of beans with a little broth, mash them with a fork, and return them to the pot. Swirl the pot gently until the broth turns silky and lightly coats the spoon. Taste for salt now, before the fish goes in.
- 6
Slip in the pixín
Salt the monkfish pieces lightly, lay them over the beans, and nudge them just under the broth. Keep the heat low and cook 5 to 6 minutes, only until the fish turns pearly and firm. Monkfish can take more than hake, but it is still fish; boil it hard and you have made rope. If using hake or halibut, cook only 3 to 4 minutes.
This is the step that decides the dish: beans first, fish last. The pixín finishes in the stored heat of the stew and stays sweet. - 7
Rest and serve
Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let it rest 10 minutes. Stir in most of the parsley by shaking the pot, not digging through it, then finish with the remaining parsley and a thin thread of olive oil. Serve in deep bowls with bread for the broth. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Chef Tips
- •Buy real fabes de la granja if you can. If not, judión or a good dried cannellini is the honest substitute; the stew will be less creamy, but still worth making.
- •No pixín where you are? Monkfish tail under its market name is right. Hake loin or halibut can stand in, but they cook faster and break more easily, so add them later and move the pot gently.
- •Use sidra natural or a dry hard cider, never sweet cider. If you cannot find it, use dry white wine with 1 teaspoon of cider vinegar; you lose the Asturian apple edge, but the sofrito still has lift.
- •Do not add chorizo because there are fabes in the pot. That pulls the dish toward fabada and covers the fish, which is not the point here.
- •A light fish stock is enough. Avoid salty seafood concentrate, or the broth will taste loud before the beans have time to soften.
Advance Preparation
- •Soak the fabes 8 to 12 hours ahead in plenty of cold water.
- •The fish stock can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept cold, or frozen for a month.
- •You can cook the beans and sofrito a day ahead, stopping before the monkfish. Reheat gently, then add the fish just before serving so it stays firm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 560g)
Calories
550 calories
Total Fat
19 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
16 g
Cholesterol
35 mg
Sodium
1000 mg
Total Carbohydrates
53 g
Dietary Fiber
13 g
Sugars
5 g
Protein
41 g
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