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Fresh Broad Beans with Black Sausage and Garlic Shoots by Rick Stein from Rick Stein’s Spain (´óÏó´«Ã½ Books)

This dish of faves a la catalana is considered to be one of the three most important dishes in Catalonia. Traditionally it's made with butifarra negra, Spanish blood sausages, and fresh garlic shoots, both of which are hard to come by here in the UK, but the dish works adequately well with our black pudding, bulb garlic and some fat salad onions.

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Serves 6 as a starter, 4 as a main

Prep time: 20mins

Cooking time: 20mins

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Ingredients

225g rindless streaky bacon or pancetta, in one piece (ideally)

2–3 salad onions or 12 spring onions

100ml olive oil

20g garlic, finely chopped

625g shelled fresh broad beans

2 fresh bay leaves

1 small handful mint leaves, chopped

2 tbsp anis, such as Pernod

225ml chicken stock

2 Spanish butifarra negra sausages or 150g British black pudding

Salt

Crusty fresh bread, to serve

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Method

Cut the bacon or pancetta into 7mm thick slices, then again into small dice. Trim the salad or spring onions, cut the white parts in half, then across into thick slices, and thinly slice the green.

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Gently heat the olive oil in a cazuela or shallow flameproof casserole over a medium heat. Add the diced pancetta and fry until lightly golden.

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Add the white part of the salad or spring onions and the garlic and fry until the onion is soft. Add the broad beans and cook gently for 2–3 mins.

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Add the bay leaves, mint, Pernod, chicken stock and a little salt to taste. Add the butifarra sausage or black pudding and push down into the beans, then cover and leave to simmer for 4 mins.

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Uncover and continue to simmer until the liquid has reduced and almost disappeared.

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Lift out the butifarra sausage or black pudding and place on a board.

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Stir the green part of the onions into the pan and cook for a minute until just wilted.

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Thickly slice the black sausage, lay them on top of the beans and serve straight away with the obligatory crusty fresh bread.