Monday, November 11, 2013

Potaje de Garbanzo / Cuban Chickpea and Chorizo Stew

Yum

The last week brought about some cooler temperatures to South Florida and believe me that is quite a relief! This delightfully cool weather inspired me to make one of my favorite Cuban potajes (stew) ... Potaje de Garbanzo.  I think of a potaje (poe-tah-hey) as not quite a soup, not quite a stew and not quite a porridge. It's a hearty chickpeas (garbanzo), simmered with Spanish chorizo, ham, smoked pork shank, Cuban calabaza and potatoes. The taste takes me back to the days of sitting in my mom's kitchen, talking and watching her prepare this divine "potaje". It's funny how so many of the memories of my mom, that mean so much to me and that I hold dear, took place in her kitchen. A little choked up and a big sigh inserted here! Anyway, back to the "potaje". To me, the perfect spoonful has a piece of chorizo, calabaza, and chickpea swimming in the smokey, paprika infused tomato-y broth. Add your favorite bread to dunk in the savory broth or white rice and your meal has just graduated to a traditional Cuban meal. This is nothing short of absolutely, positively delicious! I am pretty certain that my favorite Potaje de Garbanzo may become one your favorites too!

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large vidalia onion, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 large bell pepper chopped
4 small dried and cured Spanish chorizo* links, sliced on the diagonal
1 tablespoon sweet, smoked Spanish paprika
1 tablespoon granulated garlic powder
1 laurel bay leaf
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
4 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 dry white wine
1 pounds of garbanzo beans
1 1/2 pounds of smoked pork shank
8 oz ham steak cubed
1/2  Cuban calabaza squash (or butternut squash), peeled and diced into large pieces
1 - 2 large red potatoes, peeled, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
Soak the beans 24 hours ahead of cooking time, change water whenever possible.
Place the rinse beans and place in a pot with enough water to go about 2 inches above beans. Bring to a rolling boil and cook for 5 minutes on high. Cover and turn off heat. Leave in water for 1 hour. Remove and rinse beans set aside. Throw out water.
Heat a deep, heavy bottomed dutch oven over medium heat. Add olive oil, onions, pepper and garlic. Saute for 5-7 minutes or until vegetables are tender, add sliced chorizo, paprika, bay leaf and garlic powder stir well to incorporate. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes, making sure the chorizo has expelled it's oils. Add tomato sauce, lower heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, covered. Add all of the remaining ingredients, except the salt, and stir to combine. Cook for 1 hour or until beans are almost tender. Add salt and cook for another 1/2 hour.

Serve in deep bowls along with crusty Cuban or French bread and/or, as served traditionally, with white rice. Enoy!

Recipe notes:
*Do not substitute Spanish chorizo with Mexican chorizo, the flavor profiles are completely different.
I like to to dice my calabaza (squash) in large pieces so that I actually have pieces of it remaining in the stew once it is done cooking. It tends to break down considerably during the cooking process.
Easily to adaptable to slow cooker cooking. After sauteing and simmering vegetables and chorizo in the tomato sauce, transfer all ingredients, except salt, to the slow cooker and cook on high for 4-5 hours OR on low for 8-9 hours.  Half hour before cook time is up add in the salt.
I never add salt to beans until they are almost done. It is my experience that salt added to the beginning of the bean's cooking process will keep the beans from softening.  See my post Salt Will Keep Your Beans from Softening for more information on bean cookery!

9 comments:

  1. This is a really hearty recipe Jackie! When you mentioned your memories with your mom cooking such dishes it reminded us of similar familiar moments when we were kids ourselves...:)
    Pause;the dish now: we loved the way you combined garbanzo beans with the paprika, pork and chorizo. It sounds soooo delicious! Thank you for sharing!

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    1. Paprika is one of my favorite spice! Which is why I love pairing it with Spanish chorizo - isince it has paprika it just builds on the flavor. But it doesn't overwhelm it just deepens the flavor of the dish overall.
      This is comfort food for me, and brings back winderful memoriesof my mom.

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  2. Jackie, this dish looks so delicious...what a great flavor combination! My mouth is watering, just imaging the taste...thanks for sharing!

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    1. My pleasure Jodee! I hope you get to try it sometime :-D

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  3. Hey Jackie,

    I can't find spanish chorizo, can I use Italian sausage instead?

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    1. I suppose you can try but the flavor will be vastly different from the flavor of this traditional meal. Spanish Chorizo is made using paprika as one of its main ingredients and the spices are completely different.

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    2. Wow!! This is a really excellent recipe! The smells and flavors transported ne right back to my abuelita's kitchen! Thank you so much for sharing it! For the person who asked about substititions, here's a link to get the right kind of chorizo for this recipe:

      Goya Chorizos 8 Count 14 Ozs https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0050OCOUK/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_8G6EFC928DW1XD4N0PPT

      There's truly no substitute for this particular style of chorizo becauseit's extremely dense. There's lots of brands, but they're all the same smoky, vinegar-ey flavor profile --and texture (another important factor!). If I wasn't able to get it in the supermarket or online, I'd leave it out altogether and just add some extra smoked paprika.

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  4. How many people dos this feed? 6 to 8 servings? Thanks!

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    1. Hi Raymond,
      This should serve about 8, if they are generous servings!
      Thanks for commenting!

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