Smokey Spanish Bean Stew — a plant-based Mediterranean recipe by BOSH!
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Smokey Spanish Bean Stew

This is one of those stews we keep coming back to, especially when the weather turns and you want something that feels like a proper hug in a bowl. The smoked paprika does serious heavy lifting here, giving the whole thing this deep, warming, almost BBQ-like richness that you'd never guess came together in about an hour. The beans get beautifully creamy as they cook down with the tomatoes, and the sun dried tomatoes add this intense, jammy sweetness that makes every spoonful taste like you've been slow cooking all day. Honestly, make this tonight and you will not regret it.

Cook: 70 min
Serves 4

Before You Start

  • Large pan

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp sun-dried tomato oil - from the jar
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 red onion
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 3 sun-dried tomatoes
  • 200g cherry tomatoes
  • ½ tsp chilli flakes
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 x 400g can of borlotti beans
  • 1 x 400g can of butter beans
  • 200g spinach
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • sourdough
  • hummus
  • side salad
  • drizzle of balsamic vinegar

Method

1

First, prep the veggies

  • Peel and finely dice the red onion
  • Peel and finely grate the garlic cloves
  • Finely slice the sun dried tomatoes
  • Dice the cherry tomatoes
  • Drain, rinse and pat dry the beans
2

Now, start cooking

  • Warm the sun dried tomato oil in a large pan over a medium heat
  • Add the red onion and a small pinch of salt to the pan and stir for 4-5 minutes
  • Add the garlic and sun dried tomatoes and stir for 1 minute
  • Add the tomato puree to the pan and stir for 20 seconds
  • Add the cherry tomatoes and bay leaf to the pan and stir for 3-4 minutes
  • Add the paprika and chilli flakes and stir for 30 seconds
  • Add the borlotti beans and the butter beans and stir for 1 minute
  • Add the can of cherry tomatoes to the pan, half-fill the can with water, pour it into the pan, stir to combine, turn down the heat and leave to simmer for 5-6 minutes
3

Now, finish up and get ready to eat

  • Add the spinach to the pan, fold it into the stew
  • Serve the stew up into bowls, garnish with chilli flakes and serve with sourdough bread and a simple green salad dressed with balsamic vinegar
  • A big dollop of hummus works really well here too!

Tips & Variations

  • Use the jar oil: Don't drain your sun dried tomatoes and throw the oil away. That stuff is liquid gold and it's basically a free flavour boost, so always use it as your cooking fat here.
  • Make it heartier: If you want to bulk it out, stir in a handful of baby spinach or some roughly torn kale right at the end. It wilts down in a couple of minutes and makes it feel even more substantial.
  • Serve it right: We love this with loads of crusty bread for dunking, but it's also brilliant spooned over rice or with some simple roasted potatoes on the side if you want to make it go further.

Why This Works

The trick here is using the oil from the sun dried tomatoes to fry everything off at the start. It sounds like a small thing but that oil is absolutely packed with flavour and it sets the whole dish up from the first minute. We also find that letting the onions go properly soft before you add anything else makes a massive difference, don't rush that bit.