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Escudella i Carn d'Olla

Name: Escudella i Carn d'Olla
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 180 min
Total time: 210 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients: 500 g Chicken thighs; 400 g Beef chuck, cubed; 400 g Pork ribs; 300 g Pork shoulder; 3 l Water; 150 g Onion; 200 g Carrot; 150 g Leek; 2 leaves Bay leaves; 14 g Fine sea salt; 150 g Coarsely minced beef; 100 g Minced pork; 1 large Eggs; 30 g Dry breadcrumbs; 2 cloves Garlic cloves; 10 g Flat-leaf parsley; 250 g Chickpeas; 350 g Potatoes; 250 g White cabbage; 250 g Botifarra negra (Catalan blood sausage); 200 g Galets pasta; 3 g Whole black peppercorns

The classic Catalan Christmas stew: a broth perfumed by three meats, served first with galets pasta and a meatball, then enjoyed again as a plate of meats and vegetables on its own.

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 180 min
Difficulty: Intermediate

About this dish

Escudella i carn d'olla is the centrepiece of a Catalan Christmas, traditionally served on Christmas Day or Saint Stephen's Day. It isn't one dish, it's two: first the soup with galets — the shell-shaped pasta that gives the whole "galets" family its name — and then, as a second course, the carn d'olla: all the meats and vegetables that simmered in the same broth, served on their own plate with a little bread. The pilota, a large elongated meatball poached directly in the broth, is what sets this stew apart from any other: its name literally means "ball," for its shape.

Lactose-free
Not vegetarian because of Chicken thighs, Beef chuck, cubed, Pork ribs, Pork shoulder, Coarsely minced beef, Minced pork, Botifarra negra (Catalan blood sausage)
Contains gluten because of Dry breadcrumbs, Galets pasta

Ingredients

6servings

500gChicken thighs
400gBeef chuck, cubed
400gPork ribs
300gPork shoulder
3lWater
150gOnion
200gCarrot
150gLeek
2leavesBay leaves
14gFine sea salt
150gCoarsely minced beef
100gMinced pork
1largeEggs
30gDry breadcrumbs
2clovesGarlic cloves
10gFlat-leaf parsley
250gChickpeas
350gPotatoes
250gWhite cabbage
250gBotifarra negra (Catalan blood sausage)
200gGalets pasta
3gWhole black peppercorns

Instructions

Season the chicken, beef, pork ribs and pork shoulder with salt.
15 min
Tip: Salting the meat before it ever meets the water starts seasoning the broth from the first minute, not just the meat itself.
Put all the meat in a large pot with the water, onion, carrot, leek and bay leaf, and simmer gently for 2 hours.
120 min
Tip: A slow, steady simmer is what gives a clean, golden broth; a hard boil clouds it and toughens the meat instead of softening it.
Mix the minced beef and pork with the egg, breadcrumbs, garlic and parsley, shape into one elongated pilota, and add it to the broth.
20 min
Tip: The elongated shape, not round, is what sets it apart from an ordinary meatball — it cooks evenly through and slices cleanly for serving.
Add the chickpeas, potatoes, cabbage and botifarra negra, and simmer 20 minutes more.
20 min
Tip: The sausage goes in late because it's already cured and only needs warming through, not cooking — boiling it longer dries it out and splits the skin.
Strain some of the broth into a separate pot, bring it to a boil, and cook the galets in it for 15 minutes.
15 min
Tip: Cooking the pasta in the broth, not plain water, is what gives it flavour — a galet boiled in water alone tastes of nothing.
Serve the broth with the galets first, seasoned with pepper, then the meats, vegetables and pilota as a second course.
5 min
Tip: Serving it in two rounds isn't empty ceremony — the soup goes cold if it waits for the meat to be carved, and the meat overcooks if it's cut too soon.