Porotos Granados (Chilean Summer Bean Stew)

One of my favorite Chilean dishes is called Porotos Granados and it condenses the summer for us: corn, basil, fresh tomatoes and these summer beans that in the United States are called butter peas, but they are very hard to find. People replace them with cranberry beans or even a combination of white beans (such as Great Northern) and lima beans, canned. Butter peas can be found in the South and the last time I went to Gainesville to visit our family I bought two bags of them, frozen, and brought them back to Minneapolis in the plane. It was annoying, but it paid off! The brand Margaret Holmes offers them in cans and I think you can order them online.

There are two versions of Porotos Granados: "con mazamorra" (meaning that some of the corn has been processed or grated and added later) and "sin mazamorra" (meaning that the corn is added whole, making this dish more of a soup). My husband prefers "con", so that's what I usually make.

Recipe (for 4 people)

- 2    cans of Great Northern beans, drained
- 1    can of lima beans
Or
- 4    cups of frozen butter peas
Or
- 3    cans of Margaret Holmes butter peas

- 1    small onion chopped
- 1    piece of red pepper (chopped, 1 tablespoon)
- 2    cups of cubed pumpkin, acorn squash or butternut squash
- 3    cloves of garlic
- 3    cups of fresh corn kernels
- 2    links of chorizo sausage (optional)
- 1/4 cup fresh basil
- 3    cups of low sodium chicken broth (optional, add water for vegetarians)
-       olive oil
-       salt
-       pepper
-       oregano
-       paprika
-       merken (Chilean spice, I have a friend who's working on introducing this beautiful spice mixture in the United States. His brand is called Etnia)

Directions:

Cut chorizo in thick slices. In a dutch oven, saute chorizo in its own fat until brown and remove.
In the same pot, make a "sofrito" (sauteing the onion, pepper and garlic in olive oil until the onion is transparent). Add all the spices, salt and pepper. Add the beans and the pumpkin and mix. Add one cup of whole corn kernels. Add chicken broth and one cup of water. In a blender or food processor, process the rest of the corn kernels and the fresh basil until they become a coarse paste. Add mixture to the soup and half of the chorizo slices, stir and let cook for thirty minutes.

Serve with the rest of the chorizo slices on top and with a tomato basil salad (just diced tomatoes, chopped basil, olive oil and salt).

Enjoy!