With the cooler weather coming in, there is nothing better than a hot dish to warm your soul. This Delicious Bean Stew from Northern Spain | Alubias de Cantabria Recipe is just that. Made with basic ingredients, easy to put together and packed with Spanish flavors.
This dish hails from the beautiful region of Cantabria in northern Spain. It´s a recipe that´s not very popular outside of Spain. In-fact, many Spaniards outside of Cantabria have never even heard of it. But let me tell you, it truly is, one the best bean stews I have ever tasted.
To make this recipe, I used cooked jarred kidney beans, which is the same thing as canned kidney beans. However, you can always use dry uncooked kidney beans here. Just soak them in cold water for 24 hours and then boil them for 45 minutes.
TIPS & TRICKS to Make this Recipe: I used a sweet Italian green pepper. If you can´t find them in you area, no big deal. You can substitute it for a regular green bell pepper. This stew is typically served as a thick stew. If you want more of a soupy texture, add in double the amount of broth I added.
Key Ingredients & Cookware I used in this Recipe:
MY SWISS DIAMON FRYING PANS
EXTRA VIRGIN SPANISH OLIVE OIL
SWEET SMOKED SPANISH PAPRIKA
SPANISH SEA SALT
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Watch the Video Below on How to Make this Delicious Bean Stew from Northern Spain | Alubias de Cantabria Recipe
Delicious Bean Stew from Northern Spain | Alubias de Cantabria Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 1 sweet Italian green pepper
- 1 carrot
- 20 oz can cooked kidney beans 400 grams / 2 cups
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp sweet smoked Spanish paprika 2.40 grams
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder 1 gram
- sea salt & black pepper
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
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Cut 1 onion into large chunks and add into a stockpot, cut 1 Italian sweet green pepper into large chunks and add to the stockpot, cut 1 carrot into large chunks and then in half, add to the stock pot, fill the stockpot with cold water, to about 1/2 inch above the vegetables, heat with a high heat
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Meanwhile, drain a 20 ounce can of cooked kidney beans into a sieve, rinse under cold running water, cut 4 cloves of garlic into large chunks
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20 minutes after heating the stockpot, drain the vegetables into a sieve with a bowl underneath, set the veggies aside to cool off and reserve the broth
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Once the vegetables have slightly cooled off, add to a tall plastic cylinder or food processor, along with 1 tbsp of the kidney beans and 2 tbsp of the hot broth, season with sea salt and using a handheld blender blend until everything is pureed and there are no chunks (or process in the food processor)
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Heat the same stockpot with a medium heat and add in 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, after 2 minutes add in the chunks of garlic and mix with the olive oil, after 2 minutes add in the drained kidney beans, the pureed vegetables, 1 tsp of sweet smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp cumin powder and season with sea salt & black pepper, mix together until well mixed, then add in 1 1/2 cups of the hot reserved broth, give it a quick mix and let simmer for 10 minutes
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Remove the stockpot from the heat and transfer into serving bowls, garnish with freshly chopped parsley, serve at once, enjoy!
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Madeline
This recipe has become a staple in our house! We make it for a hearty and easy lunch at least once a month. My only change is to use celery instead of the carrot; I found the soup too sweet with carrot. Otherwise it is perfection. Huge thanks!
I use my Instant pot to quickly cook the vegetables/broth and retain more vitamins. For anyone wanting to try this, use one cup water with the vegetables (they will relase more water), seal, and set to zero minutes. The pressure is attained within 15 minutes, and you can then open the Instant Pot and follow the recipe as provided.
13 . Nov . 2023Spain on a Fork
Happy to hear that! Thanks for the comment 🙂 Much love
14 . Nov . 2023Michael N
26 . Feb . 2023As always, this recipe was easy to follow and incredibly delicious. I fell in love with Spanish cuisine after my wife and I visited San Sebastian a few years ago. Keep up the great videos
Spain on a Fork
So happy to hear that! Thanks for the comment 🙂 Much love
27 . Feb . 2023Laura
08 . Nov . 2022I’m confused by the weight of kidney beans. 20 ounces is almost 600g, not 400g. That’s quite a big difference. Not very tasty.
Alex O
15 . Sep . 2022We were hoping this would be one of those “so simple, but surprisingly flavorful” dishes you sometimes run across. Alas, it’s really kind’ve bland. My wife and I both thought that crispy browned shallots on top would make a huge difference. I ended up adding a touch of sherry vinegar which improved it a little bit. It also desperately needed salt and could stand to have less broth. As it stands, the soup tastes like a base for a recipe in which a few more steps and few more ingredients should be added. Nice video though – good editing and you do a great job presenting the recipe.
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24 . Apr . 2022Ben
24 . Jan . 2022I love a recipe this simple that can be so tasty and nutritious. I used a red bell, and I can confirm that works well if it’s what you have. I also garnished my bowl with a couple pieces of hardboiled egg cut into quarters. I make this all the time!
Spain on a Fork
Sounds great! Glad you like the dish 🙂 much love
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27 . Nov . 2021Robyn
18 . Nov . 2021Simple, yet delicious! I always appreciate finding vegetarian recipes that don’t skimp on flavor. Thank you for an amazing recipe and your lovely videos.
Spain on a Fork
So happy to hear that! Thanks for the comment 🙂 Much love
18 . Nov . 2021Richard
29 . Aug . 2021Dang, made this this afternoon for late lunch. Absolutely delish! I’am definitely keeping
this one on hand. Great for fasting days when I can’t have meat or dairy.
Spain on a Fork
I am so happy to hear that! Much love 🙂
30 . Aug . 2021Bo
Gracias por la receta magnífica. Esta sopa es deliciosa.
28 . Apr . 2021Spain on a Fork
Muchas gracias! Un saludo 🙂
30 . Apr . 2021Michael
You forgot to mention when the garlic cloves enter the mix.
27 . Mar . 2021Spain on a Fork
It´s on step 5 on the recipe card below 🙂 much love
29 . Mar . 2021Aurora
17 . Mar . 2021Gracias por la receta magnífica. Esta sopa es deliciosa.
Spain on a Fork
Muchas gracias! Un saludo 🙂
18 . Mar . 2021Loretta
07 . Jan . 2021We really loved this recipe. I didn’t leave comments before so I am going back to leave them. I definitely need to make this one again!
Spain on a Fork
Thank you so much 🙂 Truly appreciate it!
08 . Jan . 2021Neil Westlake
This was amazing, positively full of flavour.
Often, to create a good soup with a profound stock can take many, many hours – especially in the French style. The genius of this recipe is just how good it is, yet it is quick and surprisingly simple. I will make this again – often.
13 . Dec . 2020Spain on a Fork
So glad you enjoyed the stew! Thanks for the comment 🙂 much love
14 . Dec . 2020Tronius
Just finished a bowl, it turned out pretty spot on. I did add a bit of tomato paste and vegetable bouillon paste.
12 . Dec . 2020Spain on a Fork
Sounds great! thanks for the comment 🙂 much love
13 . Dec . 2020Jenkins
I had to sub celery for carrots but used a bit of honey to recover some of the sweetness. I added a touch of chipotle powder for a hint of smokiness as I only had regular paprika (not smoked). I also doubled the recipe and used 1 can of red and 1 can of white kidney beans. A fantastic dish. Love that processing the vegetables makes it nutrient dense and helps thicken the stew. Thank you, SOAF!
11 . Dec . 2020Spain on a Fork
Sounds like you did a great job! thanks for the comment 🙂 much love
11 . Dec . 2020Gemma
30 . Nov . 2020This recipe was perfect. However, I just used up all my carrots last night and I did not have a sweet pepper. I figured I’d need a bit of sweetness, so I added about 1 tbsp of honey to the vegetable stock to solve the problem.
Spain on a Fork
Sounds great! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂 much love
01 . Dec . 2020P Williams
I usually eat stews with some bread.Is there any particular bread which you advise?
27 . Nov . 2020Spain on a Fork
A crusty baguette always works best 🙂 much love!
28 . Nov . 2020Shone
23 . Nov . 2020its pretty good thanks 🙂
Spain on a Fork
Glad you enjoyed it 🙂 much love
23 . Nov . 2020Tina Diggs
I’m going to try this recipe!!! I was looking for a different way to make kidney beans and I came across your recipe!!! TFS!!!
21 . Nov . 2020Spain on a Fork
Let me know how it turned out 🙂 much love
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06 . Nov . 2020Bozu
05 . Nov . 2020I really like your bean recipe and I will prepare it quickly. It’s simple and very tasty. Your videos are really useful and allow you to see what you’re doing. Thank you for your generosity and your enthusiasm … and I hope all is well in Spain with this Covid, Courage!
Spain on a Fork
Thank you so much for your comment! Truly appreciate it 🙂 much love
05 . Nov . 2020