Ham Hock with Broad Beans, Lentils and Chorizo

I suppose this dish owes more to Spain than anywhere else, though I would be nervous about calling it a Spanish dish since I just made it up! But the Iberian influence is unmistakeable – the smoked ham, the onions and garlic and of course plenty of Pimenton, the Spanish Paprika.

Key to this dish, and the reason I cook it, is the broad beans and whatever lentils you choose; I used Puy lentils here. The broad beans should be fully shelled – so take the outer casings off, blanch for a couple of minutes and then remove the velvety casing to reveal the bright green bean. You could probably get away without doing this if the broad beans are very young and small, but if they are larger, then this is a must, so make sure you have plenty.  You should eat this with the soft olive oil rich flat breads that they love in Spain, I will dig out a recipe when I get time. This serves four with bread at Lunch – the glass of wine is optional!

Ingredients

Grill the red peppers, leave to cool, remove the skins and chop into chunks.

Chop the onion and garlic finely and fry in a large pan in the olive oil slowly till they start changing colour.

Chop the Hock into large chunks, getting rid of excess fat and the bone – the Spanish among you may want to leave some more of the fat than the English!

Chop the Chorizo into chunks (not thin slices).

Add the peppers, hock and chorizo to the onions and stir well.

Add the lentils (drained) and the broad beans and cook until the lentils and beans are cooked through.

Add the tomato paste, the paprika and the wine. Stir till it thickens up. Cook gently for about 15 minutes.

Take off the heat, season with pepper and the chopped parsley. You won't need salt.

Serve – drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over each serving.

This is good in small portions with big chunks of bread! Oh, and more wine...