Bean Soup - Fijones with homemade chicken stock

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade chicken stock ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Put the chicken, the onion, carrot, celery, parsley, bay leaves and peppercorns and the water in a pot and bring to a boil. Skim off the foam that rises during the first 15 minutes with a spoon.

   StovePot
2. 2
   Turn down and simmer gently 2.5–3 hours.

   Stove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
3. 3
   Strain the stock.

   Colander

For the Fried onion

1. 4
   In advanceSoak the beans overnight in cold water. Drain, rinse, boil in boiling water for 10 minutes, discard the water and drain.

   Bowl

   💡Soak in plenty of water, well above what's being soaked: legumes and grains swell and drink water, and whatever sticks out stays hard. Drain well before continuing.
2. 5
   Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat.

   StovePot
3. 6
   Add the onion and fry for 8–10 minutes, stirring, until the onion is soft and deep golden.

   Stove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
4. 7
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   Stove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.

To assemble

1. 8
   Sprinkle in the cumin and paprika and stir for 30 seconds to a minute, until fragrant.
2. 9
   Add the legumes, tomatoes, stock, water and bay leaves and bring to a boil.

   Stove
3. 10
   Turn down the heat and simmer with the lid slightly open 75 minutes, until the legumes is tender.

   Stove
4. 11
   Remove the bay leaves.
5. 12
   Whisk the flour with the water into a smooth slurry, add a few spoonfuls of the hot soup and stir. Pour into the simmering pot while stirring and cook a few more minutes, until the soup thickens.

   WhiskBowlStove

   💡Temper the slurry with a few spoonfuls of hot soup before it goes into the pot: that way the flour doesn't seize into lumps.
6. 13
   Season with black pepper, taste and adjust.