Galician Soup Recipes

GALICIAN SOUP (POTE GALLEGO)

Steps:

• Rinse beans and discard any damaged or odd looking beans. Put in large pot with 1 tablespoon of salt and cover by 4 inches. Leave to soak overnight or at least 8 hours.
• In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, add salt pork, beef shank,marrow bone, chorizo and ham hock. Cover all with cold water by three inches and bring to a boil over high heat. Skim any gray foam that comes to the surface with a spoon. Add drained and rinsed beans, onion and peppercorns, and bring back to a boil. Cover and turn heat down to low or medium/low - pot should be at a strong simmer for two hours.
• Prepare cabbage by stripping the outer, dark green leaves. Remove core of leaves, chop roughly and set aside. Quarter the light green inner cabbage and remove core. Halve each piece again and chop into chunks.
• Over the two hours, check pot every 30 minutes or so and spoon off any gray 'scum' that bubbles at the top - this is from the meat. When the broth is thickening and the beans are almost tender, add the morcilla, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, potatoes and chopped dark green outer cabbage leaves. Bring back to the boil, then cover and lower heat to a simmer again for about 20 minutes.
• Taste for salt again and add the rest of the cabbage. Cover and cook until cabbage is very tender, at least 40 minutes. Test for salt and adjust.
• To serve, remove meats and chop (except chorizo and morcilla). Remove bones and fat and put meats back into soup. Slice chorizo and morcilla and add to the bottom of each bowl before serving, Top with soup and serve.

CALDO GALLEGO ( GALICIAN WHITE BEAN SOUP) ( PORTUGUESE)

Steps:

• Soak the beans in water overnight.
• Blanch the salt pork or bacon by putting it into cold water, bring to boil, and then drain. Cube into dice.
• In a large kettle put the drained white beans, the two quarts cold water. the ham, the diced salt pork, cover and simmer two hours.
• Add the turnips, turnip greens, potato, sausage, and seasoning of salt and pepper.
• Cover and cook 1/2 hour or until the vegetables, and beans are tender.
• Cut sausage into slices replace them back into the soup and taste again for seasoning.
• Serve.
• Serrano ham is a raw smoked ham similar to prosciutto, it is sometimes hard to find, use large chunks of smithfield ham if you can't find either.

GALICIAN SOUP ( CALDO GALLEGO )

Steps:

• Cut Veal and Ham Steaks into Chunks.
• Mince Onion and Garlic
• Peel and Cut Potatoes into Cubes.
• Skin and cut Choizo into 1/4 inch round slices.
• In a Large Soup pot
• Add the beans with their liquid.
• Then place all remaining ingredients.
• Mix well and let Cook over low flame for about 3 hours.
• Serve in Soup Bowls with Toated Italian Bread for dunking on the side.