Fabes con Setas Asturianas

Fabes con setas are Asturian, a stew from the wet north where beans and woodland mushrooms meet without needing compango to speak for them. This is not fabada, because there is no chorizo, morcilla, or lacón doing the heavy work. The dish belongs to the bean and the mushrooms: creamy fabes de la granja, boletus if you can get them, trompeta negra if the market is kind, garlic, a little pimentón, and patience.

The step that decides it is the order. Cook the fabes slowly first, at the barest tremble, until they are tender and the broth turns silky. Then cook the setas apart in garlic oil and stir them in at the end. If you simmer the mushrooms for hours, they give up their bite and their clean woodland smell. Add them late and the stew tastes alive, not tired.

If you are far from Asturias, no hace falta haber pisado España. Use a large dried white bean, judión if you find it, or good cannellini if that is what the shop has. For the mushrooms, use firm oyster mushrooms or cremini with a small handful of dried porcini or dried black trumpet soaked into the cooking water. It will be less deep than fresh boletus in autumn, but it will still be honest. Pésalo, no lo adivines, weigh it, don't guess.

My Margin for this one says only: mushrooms at the end. That is where beginners spoil it, trying to make the pot taste stronger by cooking it longer. Don't. Let the beans do their slow work, let the setas keep their teeth, and serve it with bread for the broth. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.