Botifarra amb Mongetes
Recipes with Butifarra
The defining Catalan dish. Grilled butifarra blanca on a hot planxa, the fat running into ganxet beans that have been warming in the same pan. The beans absorb the rendered pork fat and become the sauce. Pa amb tomàquet on the side.
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
20 min
Servings
2
Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients
- 2 butifarra blanca sausages
- 400g cooked mongetes del ganxet or other white beans (drained if canned)
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and bruised
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 sprig of thyme or fresh parsley
- Salt and black pepper
- 2 thick slices pa de pagès (Catalan country bread)
- 1 ripe tomato (for pa amb tomàquet)
- Olive oil (for bread)
Steps
Prepare the pa amb tomàquet: halve the tomato and rub the cut face firmly over the bread slices until the pulp saturates the crumb. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Set aside.
Heat a cast-iron planxa or heavy frying pan over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. When the oil shimmers, add the butifarra sausages.
Cook the sausages for 5 to 6 minutes per side, pressing gently with a spatula every minute to maintain surface contact. The casing should brown and tighten. Do not pierce the sausages.
Transfer the cooked sausages to a warm plate to rest. Reduce heat to medium. Add the remaining olive oil and the bruised garlic to the same pan.
Add the white beans to the pan. Toss them in the fat and oil, seasoning with salt and pepper. Add the thyme sprig. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the beans are hot through and have absorbed the fat from the pan.
Plate the beans alongside or beneath the rested sausages. Serve with the pa amb tomàquet. Discard the garlic and thyme before eating.
Tips
Mongetes del ganxet have a thin skin and creamy interior that makes them the best choice here. If unavailable, any good white bean works: cannellini, navy, or butter beans. Do not use canned beans with added salt without draining and rinsing first. The beans should absorb fat, not sit in brine.