Beans with Clams
A succulent Asturian stew that combines ingredients from both the sea and the mountains: Fava beans grown in the fields, and clams from the Bay of Biscay.
By Real Academia de Gastronomía
María García Muriel
"Fabes con Almejas"Real Academia de Gastronomía
This succulent Asturian "Beans with Clams" stew combines ingredients from both the sea and the mountains: fava beans grown in the fields, and clams from the Bay of Biscay.
Fava beans are long, flat, white, kidney-shaped beans, grown in Asturias. Their thin, delicate skin and pleasant texture have made them a high-quality product with a quality brand of their own: "Faba de Asturias." Fava beans are also a key ingredient in another traditional Asturian dish: "fabada" (bean stew).
The dried beans are left to soak overnight. They are cooked for 2 hours and then "shocked" by adding cold water to halt the cooking process. Then onion, parsley, saffron... are added.
As well as the other main ingredient of the dish: clams. "We recommend using large pullet carpet shell clams, which release water but do not become chewy," explains the Asturian chef Xune Andrade.
Some Asturian chefs recommend preparing the stewed fava beans separately from the clams marinière, and then adding both to the vegetable stew. It is an effective way of controlling the cooking of both ingredients without the stew losing its flavor.
"Fabes con Almejas"Real Academia de Gastronomía
Discover more traditional seafood recipes in this exhibition.
Text: María García Muriel, in partnership with Ismael Diaz Yubero (Spanish representative to the FAO and Adviser on Agriculture, Fishing, and Food at the Spanish Embassy in Rome, and Member of Spain's Royal Academy of Gastronomy); and María Llamas (Alambique cookery store and school).
Image: David de Luis (photographer), Sandra Jiménez Osorio (food stylist), Maria Eugenia Perez-Blanco (recipe creation), Alambique cookery store and school (production).
This exhibition is part of the Spanish gastronomy project, España: Cocina Abierta (Spain: Open Kitchen), coordinated by Google Arts & Culture and Spain's Royal Academy of Gastronomy (Real Academia de la Gastronomía). The section on culinary legacy was coordinated by María Llamas, director of the Alambique cookery store and school.
Text: María García Muriell, in partnership with Ismael Diaz Yubero (Spanish representative to the FAO and Adviser on Agriculture, Fishing, and Food at the Spanish Embassy in Rome, and Member of Spain's Royal Academy of Gastronomy); and María Llamas (Alambique cookery store and school).
Image: David de Luis (photographer), Sandra Jiménez Osorio (food stylist), Maria Eugenia Perez-Blanco (recipe creation), Alambique cookery store and school (production).
This exhibition is part of the Spanish gastronomy project, España: Cocina Abierta (Spain: Open Kitchen), coordinated by Google Arts & Culture and Spain's Royal Academy of Gastronomy (Real Academia de la Gastronomía). The section on culinary legacy was coordinated by María Llamas, director of the Alambique cookery store and school.
Acknowledgements
Lourdes Plana Bellido, president of the Royal Academy of Gastronomy; Elena Rodríguez, director of the Royal Academy of Gastronomy and Carmen Simón, academic of the Royal Academy of Gastronomy.
www.realacademiadegastronomia.com
www.alambique.com
