A deliciously warming and moreish stew that is, quite unbelievably, low in calories per serving! For tips on types of beans and how to store, soak and cook them, visit our Know How page.
Ingredients
- 180g dried butter beans
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 250g raw chorizo sausage (from delis), cut into 5mm-thick diagonal slices
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 red chilli, deseeded and
- finely chopped
- 400g can chopped tomatoes
- 500ml chicken stock, hot
- Few sprigs of fresh thyme
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
Method
- 1. Soak the butter beans in a bowl of water overnight.
- 2. The next day, place the beans in a saucepan and cover with plenty of fresh water. Bring to the boil and simmer rapidly for 1 hour until just tender. Drain.
- 3. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in an ovenproof casserole and fry the raw chorizo for 2-3 minutes until starting to brown. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the onion, garlic and chilli to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, until the onion is beginning to soften.
- 4. Add the chopped tomatoes, stock, thyme and lemon zest and add the chorizo and beans to the casserole. Mix well, bring to the boil and simmer, partially covered, for 1¼ hours or until the sauce is thick and the beans are meltingly tender. Check the seasoning and discard the thyme sprigs.
- 5. Serve with crusty bread and a crunchy leaf salad.
Nutritional info
Per serving: 392kcals, 19.1g fat (6.8g saturated), 26.3g protein, 32.5g carbs, 7.6g sugar, 1.7g salt
Chef's tip
If you can’t find raw chorizo, add cooked, sliced chorizo for the last 15 minutes of cooking.