Habas con Chocos

Habas con chocos is Huelva's spring cocina de cuchara, spoon food: Atlantic cuttlefish, called choco there, simmered with small fresh fava beans in a dark, sweet sofrito of onion, garlic, tomato, and pimentón. The meeting of the coast and the spring bean harvest makes this Huelva's dish, not a general Andalusian seafood stew. The sauce should cling loosely to the choco and habas, never drown them.

The order decides whether it works. Cook the sofrito low until the onion is deep gold and the tomato has lost its raw water, then braise the choco until nearly tender before the habas go in. Cuttlefish needs patience; young favas need very little. Put them in together and either the choco stays tough or the beans turn grey and floury. Beans last. That's the line written in the Margin beside mine.

Far from Huelva, frozen baby broad beans are the honest substitute for fresh habas. Add them straight from the freezer and shorten their cooking time; they lose a little of spring's green sweetness but keep the right tenderness. If you can't find cuttlefish, use cleaned squid and expect a softer, slightly sweeter result. No hace falta haber pisado España. Siempre sale, si lo sigues. It turns out if you follow it.