“Caparrones” is a traditional Spanish dish we serve during the late fall and winter harvest seasons with fresh pork and red beans. The “Caparrones” beans have thin skins, a creamy texture, and yield a sweet, dark liquor. The “Sacramentos” are the traditional accompaniments of chorizo, pancetta, blood sausage, pork ribs, pig´s ear and trotter, as well as guindilla peppers. This is the perfect dish for cold winter days served with the Matsu El Viejo. Ingredients:
- 3 lbs of "Caparrones", a variety of red kidney beans from Anguiano (La Rioja) (or borlotti beans)
- 11 oz of marinated pancetta
- 11 oz of pork ribs
- Marinated pig's ear
- Chorizo
- 3 blood sausages
- 1 pig's trotter
- 2 onions
- 2 heads of garlic
- 3 bay leaves
- Olive oil
- Paprika
- Parsley
- Guindilla peppers
Preparation:
Soak the beans overnight in water. Place them in a pot with the onion chopped, a head of garlic and the bay leaf. Bring the ingredients (water included) to a boil over a high heat. Once it begins to boil, “scare” the beans 3 times (blanching them to halt the cooking process by adding a dash of cold water). Lower the heat and leave to cook for about 50 minutes.
In another pot, create the “Sacramentos.” Cook the pancetta, pig’s ear, ribs, trotter and chorizo. Add the blood sausage toward the end of cooking to stop it from splitting. Once cooked, remove the pot from the heat. Set aside some of the cooking water to add to the beans.
In a pan, sauté the garlic and add sweet and spicy paprika. Add the beans together with the crushed parsley.
The beans are served on one plate and the “ Sacramentos” on a separate plate, although they can also be served together (as in the picture). This dish is often served with pickled guindillas, a pencil-thin, spicy green pepper.
Nothing pairs better with this dish than a glass of Matsu El Viejo. Salut!
