Beans with squid stewed in cocotte

These days we are juggling to vary our recipes with what we can have at home. That is why I bring you a spoon dish, which without pretensions or complications ends up being a very tasty stew.

We make it using cooked white beans, which can be canned, and we mix them with squid. Both ingredients are mild in flavour, and they go together perfectly. The intensity of the flavour is provided by the peppers and by the use of a good concentrated tomato sauce.

This recipe came about as a result of a challenge we launched in our cooking group - I was challenged to make a dish incorporating several of the ingredients on this list. As you can see, the challenge has been met. Now it's your turn: I challenge you to join the group if you want to learn lots of cooking tricks and recipes, and have a good time too, because I haven't seen another group with more desire to participate, collaborate, help and enjoy as what I see in Cooking with Claudia&Julia (I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for what you do every day to make this meeting place such a pleasant and inviting place to be!)

Ingredients

• 500 gr cooked white beans (canned)
• 400 gr of squid (whole or squid rings)
• 1 onion
• 1 green pepper
• 1 red pepper
• Sun-dried tomatoes in oil (6 or 8 pieces of sun-dried tomatoes)*
• 5 tbsp concentrated natural tomato
• 80 ml dry white wine
• 150 ml water
• Olive oil
• Salt

*I really like sun-dried tomatoes to intensify the flavour of the dish, but if you don't have them, omit them.

Preparation

1. Peel and finely chop the onion. Clean and chop the peppers.
2. We put our cocotte* to heat over low heat, and add a few generous tablespoons of oil.
3. Add the onion and fry it over a low heat. When it starts to brown, add the peppers and let them cook over a low heat until they are tender.
4. Meanwhile, clean and cut the squid into pieces. Remove the ink sac and beak and clean the squid thoroughly, if using it whole. Cut off the wings and tentacles and cut it into rings, which can also be cut from the body. If using squid rings, cut them into large, roughly regular squares, one centimetre in size.
5. When the vegetables are tender, add the squid, turn up the heat to medium so that the cocotte can warm up again and let it reduce slightly for a couple of minutes. Season.
6. Add the dried tomatoes cut into small pieces, mix and add the concentrated natural tomato. Mix and let it fry for another three or four minutes.
7. We add the white wine and let the alcohol evaporate.
8. Add the water, stir and lower the heat to minimum. Let it simmer for about 20 or 25 minutes.
9. When there is little water left, add the white beans, previously drained and cleaned of the juice from the preserve. Stir to distribute evenly, leave in the cocotte for a few more minutes and remove from the heat.

The truth is that it results in a very tasty and energizing spoon dish. It is delicious at the moment, but if you have any left over you will see the next day how the settled flavors turn it into a different dish, drier and really delicious beans.

*This recipe is ideal for making in a cocotte, which you can make in either the traditional round cocotte or the kettle-style one , which will encourage the circulation of juices and liquids. As it does not incorporate a lot of liquid or large quantities of food, you could also make it in the Balti Dish . In any case, the heat and naturalness of the iron and some time to simmer a little will make you see how delicious the dish is.