• 400g dry chick peas previously soaked overnight, or 600g from a can 1 onion 100g pumpkin / butternut squash 100g green beans 1 head of garlic (about 12 cloves) 200ml sieved tomatoes (or 2 chopped plum tomatoes) 100g chorizo sausage 400g pork loin 1 medium potato 1 sun dried red pepper 1 tsp smoked Spanish paprika ½ tsp whole black peppercorns ½ cup fresh mint 1¼ litres of water (about 5 cups) 1 tbsp olive oil

Berza is typical of Gibraltar and parts of Andalusia (the southernmost part of the province of Cadiz and coastal areas of Malaga), although there are many variations of this dish even from town to town. This is an old  family recipe and there is an interesting fusion of flavours that is quite difficult to imagine just by looking at the components but results in an explosion of flavour from the first bite! The mint is what gives it the characteristic taste as it contrasts the spiciness of the chorizo and balances the flavours perfectly and elevates the flavours to another level. The smoked Spanish paprika is the other star of this dish and the flavour permeates through and is also reflected in the chorizo. It is not necessary to use too much chorizo, a little goes a long way and provides a lot of flavour. I cannot recommend this dish enough, and if you want a taste of Andalusian cuisine then this is definitely it.

  • Roughly chop the garlic and gently fry in a large saucepan

    Berza ingredients in the cooking pan

  • Add the tomatoes and allow these to fry with the garlic
  • Clean the pork loin of fat and sinew if it is not fully lean, and cut into medallions (about 2cm thick)
  • Brown the meat with the garlic for a couple of minutes until sealed
  • Add the water and the chick peas
  • Peel an onion and add whole
  • Peel a potato and add whole
  • Add the piece of pumpkin or butternut squash whole
  • Add the sun dried red pepper and peppercorns*
  • Roughly chop the mint leaves and remove any hard stalks and add to the pan
  • Chop the chorizo into pieces about 2cm thick and throw into the pan
  • If cooking in a saucepan then allow to simmer away until the chick peas are tender, about 50 minutes, however cooking in a pressure cooker (like I do) will only take 30-35 minutes
  • Remove the onion, potato, pumpkin, and sun dried red pepper and blend until it is a smooth purée
  • Add back to the sauce pan and mix well
  • Add the smoked paprika (if you add before it will end up sticking to the pan)
  • Season at this stage as seasoning before will only increase the cooking time of the chick peas

*If you don’t have any sun dried red peppers just add an extra heaped teaspoon of smoked Spanish paprika at the end

The express route…

There is an express route to this dish that cuts cooking time significantly. Personally I prefer to use dry chick peas, soak them overnight and then cook them, however you can also use canned chick peas to achieve the same result. In this case you want to use 600g of canned chick peas and add half the amount of water (about 600ml), which is enough to cover all the ingredients, and you can cook this for 20-25 minutes on a medium heat, which is enough time for the meat to cook through.