The Butter Bean & The Chorizo

I made this stew for the 'welcome back' party of a dear friend who just came back from Spain.
I don't know what I was thinking with the chorizo. I bet he must be so fed up with it, but I guess I thought it would make him feel like home.
I also thought it would be a very heavy dish but it wasn't at all. It is a stew that -apart from the initial preparation, chopping etc- you can let it do it's own thing and just stir occasionally.


180g dried (or canned) butter beans
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
250g raw chorizo sausage (available at every good deli), cut into 5mm-thick diagonal slices
1 onion, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
paprika
400g can chopped tomatoes
500ml chicken stock, hot
dried oregano
Grated zest of 1 lemon

Soak the butter beans in a bowl of water overnight.
The next day, place the beans in a saucepan and cover with plenty of fresh water. Bring to the boil and simmer rapidly for 1 hour until just tender. Drain. You can always use tinned butter beans instead.
Heat the olive oil in an ovenproof casserole and fry the raw chorizo for 2-3 minutes until starting to brown. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the onion, garlic and paprika to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, until the onion is beginning to soften.
Add the chopped tomatoes, stock, oregano and lemon zest and add the chorizo and beans to the casserole. Mix well, bring to the boil and simmer, partially covered, for 1¼ hours or until the sauce is thick and the beans are tender. Check the seasoning.
Serve with crusty bread and leaf salad and of course Rioja.