Smoky Six-Bean Stew
with Guajillo, Mulato & Porcini

Place chickpeas, white beans, and borlotti in a large bowl. Cover generously with cold water and refrigerate 8–12 hours. Leave lentils dry. Soak chiles and porcini in separate bowls of cold water (overnight or minimum 2–3 hours day-of). Reserve all soaking liquids.

Drain and rinse soaked legumes. Cook chickpeas separately in unsalted water (60–90 min) and beans together in another pot (45–60 min) until almost but not fully tender — they finish in the stew. Reserve all cooking liquid. Do not salt at this stage.

If using parsley root: halve 1 root, toss in a little olive oil, and roast at 200°C for 25–30 minutes until completely tender and lightly caramelised. It goes into the blender with the sauce. This step can run in the background while the beans cook.

Strain chile and porcini soaking liquids through a fine sieve or coffee filter. Tear chiles open; discard stems and seeds. Roughly chop porcini. Reserve 1–2 sundried tomatoes sliced thin for garnish; roughly chop the rest. Roughly chop onions. Peel garlic and leave whole — it will be blended.

In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, cook pancetta until fat fully renders and lardons are golden, about 5–6 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon; set aside. Do not drain the fat — it is the flavour base for the aromatics.

Add sundried tomato oil to the pot. Raise heat to medium-high. Add onions and cook 7–8 minutes until soft and lightly browned. Add garlic; cook 1–2 minutes until fragrant.

Add cumin and paprika; stir 30 seconds until sizzling in the fat. Immediately add torn chiles, chopped porcini, and chopped sundried tomatoes. Stir well, pressing chiles against the bottom. Cook 2 minutes until fragrant and beginning to stick slightly. This caramelisation is intentional.

Remove pot from heat entirely. Cool 10 minutes — do not rush this. Meanwhile break frozen stock into chunks. It goes into the blender cold to safely lower the mixture's temperature.

Transfer cooled base to blender. Add frozen stock chunks and approximately 150 ml of combined soaking liquid. If using roasted parsley root, add it now. Blend on high for 60–90 seconds until completely smooth and glossy. Taste: add a pinch of sugar if bitter; a pinch of salt if flat. Work in two batches if the blender is small.

Return pot to medium-high heat. Pour sauce back in — it will spatter immediately. Stir constantly with a heatproof spatula for 4–5 minutes until the sauce darkens, reduces slightly, and begins pulling from the sides. The kitchen will smell intensely of roasted chiles. This is correct and essential.

Add pre-cooked beans and chickpeas, dry uncooked lentils, and reserved pancetta. Pour in remaining soaking liquids then add bean cooking liquid until everything is submerged by 2–3 cm. Add bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Stir well, scraping any sauce from the bottom.

Bring to a gentle boil then reduce to low. Simmer uncovered 30–35 minutes, stirring every 5–10 minutes, until lentils are fully tender and all beans are soft with no chalkiness. Add more cooking liquid or water if it thickens before the lentils are done. The finished stew should be thick but still move when the pot is tilted.

Remove bay leaves. Off the heat, stir in ground flaxseed (omega-3s degrade at high heat) and vinegar or lime juice. Taste and adjust salt. The vinegar should brighten without tasting sharp — if flat, add more; if too rich, add a splash of water. Rest 5 minutes before serving.

Dress arugula with fresh lemon juice, good olive oil, and a pinch of salt. Keep cold and separate. The Vitamin C in the lemon actively increases non-heme iron absorption from the legumes by up to 3×. Serve it cold alongside the hot stew — the contrast is intentional.

Ladle stew into a deep bowl. Scatter hemp seeds over the top. Add a large spoon of Greek yogurt, sliced tomato, and cold sauerkraut (never add sauerkraut to hot stew — heat kills live cultures). Fan sliced avocado along one edge. Serve arugula salad in a small bowl alongside. Any reserved sundried tomato slices go on top now.