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Verdinas con marisco
Green beans with prawns and clams
Verdinas con marisco: Llanes green beans stewed with prawns and clams
Verdinas are small, pale-green dried beans grown around Llanes in eastern Asturias, prized for their thin skins and buttery texture; seaside restaurants there pair them with whatever shellfish came in that morning. It is a newer dish than fabada, lighter and greener, often eaten in summer on the terraces above the harbour. If you can't find verdinas, French flageolet beans are the nearest match. Chef's tip: make a quick stock from the prawn shells and heads; it gives the beans far more flavour than plain water.
- Total time
- 120 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the beans
- 10 ½ oz dried verdina beans or flageolet beanssoaked overnight in cold water
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 1 green pepperfinely chopped
- 3 cloves garlicfinely chopped
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp sweet paprika
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp saltto taste
For the shellfish
- 10 ½ oz raw prawnsshell on
- 14 oz fresh clams
- 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsleychopped
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Check 14 oz fresh clams: throw away any with cracked shells and any open ones that don't close when tapped. Soak the rest in cold salted water for 1 hour so they spit out sand.
60 minStep 2: Peel 10 ½ oz raw prawns, keeping the meat in the fridge. Fry the shells and heads in 1 tablespoon of 1 tbsp olive oil until pink, add 1.2 litres of water, simmer for 15 minutes, then strain.
20 minStep 3: Warm the rest of 4 tbsp olive oil in a pot and cook 1 onion, 1 green pepper and 3 cloves garlic over a low heat for 10 minutes, until soft. Stir in ½ tsp sweet paprika.
10 minStep 4: Add the drained 10 ½ oz dried verdina beans or flageolet beans, 1 bay leaf and enough prawn stock to cover by 2 cm. Simmer very gently, partly covered, for 50–60 minutes, topping up with stock, until tender and creamy. Verdinas cook faster than most beans, so start checking at 45 minutes.
55 minStep 5: Season with 1 tsp salt. Add the drained clams, cover and cook for 3–4 minutes, until they open. Throw away any that stay shut.
4 minStep 6: Add the prawns and simmer for 2 minutes more, until they turn pink and opaque all through. A common mistake is adding the prawns with the clams: they then overcook and toughen.
2 minStep 7: Rest off the heat for 5 minutes, scatter with 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley and serve in shallow bowls.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 470 kcal
- Protein
- 33 g
- Carbs
- 46 g
- Fat
- 17 g
- Fibre
- 15 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does verdinas con marisco take?
- About 120 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 90 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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