How To Make A Delicious Spanish Stew: Pote Gallego

People familiar with Spanish stew or Pote Gallego often mistake it for a caldo or stock at first glance. They do indeed have similar ingredients. However, a delicious Spanish stew is heartier.

The caldo is made from the leftovers of the pote. The  Pote Gallego  is a delicious Spanish stew that contains a variety of vegetables that you can find in the gardens all over Galicia.

The original Pote Gallego is not vegetarian. It is usually made with meat and bones or animal fat to flavor the stew. Animal fat is called  unto.  This fat comes from the small intestine of the pig. Usually unto has been smoked.

In this recipe, however, we’ll look at another possibility.

A traditional recipe for Pote Gallego, a delicious Spanish stew

Ingredients (for four people)

• salt
• 1 black pudding (morcilla)
• 12 cups of water (3 liters)
• 2 smoked chorizo ​​sausages
• 1/2 kilo potatoes
• 1 bunch of turnip greens (500 g)
• 500 grams of cabbage leaves
• 2 pork feet
• 1 1/4 cup dried white beans (250 g)
• a piece of pork shoulder (Lacón Gallego)
• a piece of salted unto (pork fat), preferably yellow (250 g)

Preparation

Follow these guidelines and make a delicious Spanish stew!

• Soak the dry white beans overnight. However, you should not soak them for more than 8 hours. Then drain them and set them aside.
• Place the three liters of water, salt, legs, unto, pork shoulder and chorizo ​​in a large saucepan. Then put it on a medium heat.
• In a separate pan, put the beans with some water (no salt). Once it boils, drain the beans quickly. Pour them back into the pan and add cold water. Repeat draining and adding the cold water one more time. Then add the beans to the other pan.
• Let everything cook for 30 minutes.
• Wash and peel the potatoes. Then cut them into thin slices.
• Also wash the turnip greens (you only use the leaves as the stem can be very hard). Cut the leaves into pieces. Rinse the vegetables with cold water and drain.

• Finally, add the potato slices, broccoli pieces and cabbage to the pan. Then let it cook for another 30 minutes.

Some tips to make this delicious Spanish stew

Tips about the ingredients

• Spoon the stock into the bowl first, then the meat, beans, and lastly place the potatoes on top.
• You can also add small pieces of veal or other types of red meat. White meat is not recommended as it is not traditional for this delicious Spanish stew.
• However, you can also add extra chorizo, black pudding and potatoes. Everything depends on what you like.

Tips about the herbs

Be careful how much salt you use. Also make sure that the meat you use is not salted. Otherwise, your stew will become too salty. However, if it is too salty, add more water. If that doesn’t work either, remove a quarter of the liquid in the pan and replace it with water.

If the meat you use is salted, and we are mainly talking about the pork shoulder here, you will have to soak it for a few days before making the Pote Gallego. Change the water every 12 hours.

If you like, you can still set aside a small piece of meat and use it salted in the dish. It will give the stew a stronger flavor.

Tips on how to serve the Pote Gallego

Your Pote Gallego will taste even better if you let it steep for a few days. So before you serve it, it is best to save it for a while to eat it later. Or just make the stew a little earlier to give the flavors a chance to mingle and intensify.

Usually the Pote Gallego is served alone. However, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t go well with homemade bread. It is a popular dish in winter. You serve it hot after all, but it’s great all year round.