Red Beans and Chorizo Stew

This bean stew tastes great topped with a scoop of the red rice recipe that follows, or add a fried egg and serve with slices of toasted, crusty bread. The okra gives the stew a great texture; cooked green beans, shelled edamame or sautéed zucchini work too.

Makes 6 servings

1 pound dried red beans

2 smoked ham hocks (or 4 ounces chopped smoked bacon)

1 3⁄4 teaspoons salt

12 ounces uncooked chorizo or spicy Italian sausage, removed from casing

1 medium red onion, trimmed, chopped 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 cups diced fresh mushrooms

1 poblano or red bell or yellow bell pepper, cored, diced

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 bag (12 ounces) frozen cut okra

Chopped fresh cilantro

Red jasmine rice, optional

Prep: 25 minutes; cook: two hours

1. Rinse beans well and pick through them for stones. Put beans into a large (4- to 6-quart or 3.78- to 5.7-litre) Dutch oven or deep saucepan. Add cold water to cover by 2 inches. Heat to a boil, then remove from heat and let stand one hour.

2. Add water if needed so beans are covered by 2 inches. Add ham hocks. Heat to a boil, then reduce heat to very low. Partly cover the pan and let simmer, stirring often and adding water as needed to always keep beans covered by at least 1 inch. Cook until the beans are tender to the bite (you’ll need to taste them), usually 1½ to two hours. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt and simmer 10 more minutes. At this point you can refrigerate the beans for several days in their liquid. Remove the hocks and pull the meat off the bones and chop it finely and reserve.

3. Meanwhile, put chorizo and onion into a large, deep saucepan or deep skillet. Set over medium heat. Cook and stir to break up the chorizo until golden, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic; cook one minute. Stir in mushrooms, pepper and chili power.

4. Strain beans over a bowl to catch their liquid. Stir 3 cups of the drained beans, 1 cup of the bean cooking liquid, the chopped ham hock meat and the okra into the chorizo. (Save remaining beans for another use.) Simmer, partly covered, over medium heat about 10 minutes. Season to taste with the remaining ¾ teaspoon salt. Serve in wide bowls topped with rice and cilantro.

Per serving: 444 calories, 24 grams fat, 9 g saturated fat, 60 milligrams cholesterol, 51 g carbohydrates, 5 g sugar, 35 g protein, 906 mg sodium, 16 g fibre