Chef Isabel
Alubias de La Bañeza con Boletus
This León guiso pairs La Bañeza beans with wild boletus, a quiet autumn stew where the beans simmer gently and the mushrooms go in near the end, while they still have bite and perfume.
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Judías con Perdiz Toledanas
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Judías con perdiz are Toledo's winter spoon food: white beans, red-legged partridge, wine, bay, and a slow sofrito that gives the broth its dark sweetness.
Soups & Stews
Spanish
Comfort Food
Special Occasion
One Pot
30 min
Active Time
2 hr 45 min cook•11 hr 15 min total
Yield4 servings
Judías con perdiz are Toledan, from Castilla-La Mancha's hunting country: white beans cooked with partridge until the bird gives up its strength to the pot and the beans turn creamy around it. This is cocina de cuchara, spoon food, and it isn't a thin bean soup with a bird dropped in at the end. The partridge must season the beans, and the beans must soften in that gamey broth.
The method that decides it is the sofrito, the slow onion base. Cook the onion, carrot, garlic, and tomato low until the onion is dark gold and the tomato has lost its raw water. Rush it and the stew tastes pale. Give it time and the broth has the sweetness and depth this dish needs, because partridge is lean and won't flatter a weak base for you.
If you can't find red-legged partridge where you are, use pheasant legs or small quail. Pheasant is closer in flavour but may take longer; quail is smaller and gentler, so add it after the beans have begun to soften or it will fall apart before the beans are ready. No hace falta haber pisado España. You do need dried beans soaked overnight, a real bird with bones, and patience.
In the Margin beside this dish I keep one warning: don't boil it hard. A steady tremble gives tender beans and a clear, deep broth. A hard boil breaks the skins and dries the bird. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Judías con perdiz belong to the inland table of Toledo and the Montes de Toledo, where red-legged partridge was one of the prized birds of the hunting season. The dish joins two old Castilian-La Mancha habits: dried legumes that fed households through winter and small game cooked slowly because it was lean, firm, and worth stretching. In some homes the partridge is first cooked almost like an escabeche, with wine or vinegar and bay, then joined to the beans; in others it cooks in the same pot from the start, but the point is the same: the bird flavors the spoonful.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
dried white beans
Quantity
350g
soaked overnight
small partridges
Quantity
2, about 450g each
cleaned
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
60ml
onion
Quantity
1 large
finely chopped
carrot
Quantity
1 medium
finely diced
leek, white part only
Quantity
1 small
finely sliced
garlic
Quantity
4 cloves
2 minced, 2 left whole
ripe tomato or canned crushed tomato
Quantity
1 grated tomato or 150g canned
sweet pimentón de la Vera
Quantity
1 teaspoon
dry white wine
Quantity
150ml
vinagre de Jerez (sherry vinegar)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
bay leaves
Quantity
2
black peppercorns
Quantity
6
thyme
Quantity
1 small sprig
cold water
Quantity
1.4 litres, plus more as needed
fine salt
Quantity
10g, plus more to taste
flat-leaf parsley (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
chopped
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| dried white beanssoaked overnight | 350g |
| small partridgescleaned | 2, about 450g each |
| extra virgin olive oil | 60ml |
| onionfinely chopped | 1 large |
| carrotfinely diced | 1 medium |
| leek, white part onlyfinely sliced | 1 small |
| garlic2 minced, 2 left whole | 4 cloves |
| ripe tomato or canned crushed tomato | 1 grated tomato or 150g canned |
| sweet pimentón de la Vera | 1 teaspoon |
| dry white wine | 150ml |
| vinagre de Jerez (sherry vinegar) | 1 tablespoon |
| bay leaves | 2 |
| black peppercorns | 6 |
| thyme | 1 small sprig |
| cold water | 1.4 litres, plus more as needed |
| fine salt | 10g, plus more to taste |
| flat-leaf parsley (optional)chopped | 1 tablespoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy 5 to 6 litre pot or olla
- •Skimming spoon
- •Kitchen twine, optional, for tying the partridges
Instructions
- 1
Soak the beans
The night before, cover the beans with plenty of cold water and leave them to soak for 8 to 12 hours. Drain them before cooking. Pésalo, no lo adivines: old beans take longer and never turn as creamy, so buy from a shop with good turnover.
If the beans are more than a year old, they may stay chalky no matter how patient you are. That isn't your fault, it's the bean. - 2
Brown the partridge
Pat the partridges dry and salt them lightly. Heat the olive oil in a heavy pot over medium heat and brown the birds on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes in all. Take them out to a plate. Don't try to cook them through here; you only want the browned skin and the flavour left in the pot.
- 3
Cook the sofrito
Lower the heat and add the onion, carrot, leek, and minced garlic to the same oil. Cook slowly for 18 to 22 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is dark gold and sweet and the vegetables have softened into the oil. Add the grated tomato and cook another 8 to 10 minutes, until it thickens and the oil shows at the edges. This slow sofrito is what gives the lean partridge enough depth to carry the beans.
- 4
Add wine and beans
Stir in the pimentón for a few seconds off the heat so it smells warm but does not scorch. Pour in the wine and vinegar, return the pot to the heat, and let it bubble for 2 minutes, scraping the bottom. Add the drained beans, bay leaves, peppercorns, thyme, whole garlic cloves, and 1.4 litres cold water.
- 5
Simmer gently
Set the browned partridges into the pot breast side up and bring everything slowly to a bare simmer. Skim the foam that rises, then lower the heat until the surface barely trembles. Cook uncovered or half-covered for about 2 hours, shaking the pot by the handles now and then instead of stirring hard. Add a little cold water if the beans rise above the liquid.
- 6
Salt near the end
When the beans are almost tender, after about 1 hour 45 minutes, add 10g salt. Keep cooking until the beans are creamy inside and the partridge meat pulls easily from the legs, usually 30 to 45 minutes more. If the birds are farmed and tender before the beans are done, lift them out, cover them, and return them for the last 10 minutes.
- 7
Rest and serve
Lift out the partridges and let them cool just enough to handle. Cut each bird into halves or pull the meat from the bones in large pieces, as your table likes it. Remove the bay and thyme, taste the broth for salt, and return the meat to the pot. Let the stew rest off the heat for 15 minutes so the broth settles and thickens around the beans. Serve in deep bowls with a little parsley if you want it, and bread for the juices.
Chef Tips
- •Use partridge with bones, not boneless game meat. The bones give the broth its country depth, and the legs tell you when the bird is tender.
- •If partridge is out of reach, pheasant legs are the best substitute. Use about 700g and expect a similar cooking time. Four quail also work, but add them after the beans have cooked for about 1 hour because they are small and tender.
- •Don't skip the overnight soak. This is not fussiness. Soaked beans cook more evenly, and even cooking matters when a lean bird is sharing the pot.
- •A spoonful of vinagre de Jerez sharpens the stew without making it sour. Castilla-La Mancha game dishes often need that lift because the meat is lean and deep-tasting.
- •This is better after a rest. Make it in the morning for lunch, or the day before for an even deeper broth. Reheat it gently, with a splash of water if it has thickened.
Advance Preparation
- •Soak the beans 8 to 12 hours ahead in plenty of cold water.
- •The stew can be cooked 1 day ahead and chilled. Reheat slowly over low heat, loosening with a little water so the beans do not catch on the bottom.
- •The partridges can be browned a few hours ahead; keep them covered in the refrigerator and add them when the beans go into the pot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 625g)
Calories
610 calories
Total Fat
17 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
14 g
Cholesterol
105 mg
Sodium
1100 mg
Total Carbohydrates
64 g
Dietary Fiber
16 g
Sugars
6 g
Protein
53 g
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