Catalan Christmas soup – the recipe …. the super-recipe.

• Español

Lasts days I have seen a growing interest in the Catalan Christmas soup. So here it is again, but I am not responsible

Republished  December 15, 2008

I want to take this opportunity to honour the turkey, the opulence’s martyr.

Last days I polled my Flickr contacts in order to know Christmas culinary traditions around the world. View their answers now I feel a deep respect for this animal.

On Mexic: turkey. On Argentina: turkey. On Canada: turkey. On Germany: turkey. On United States all turkey they don’t have eaten on Thanksgiving day.

Turkeys of the world! Get together in Catalonia!

We don’t eat turkey on Christmas (someone yes but, they aren’t really Catalan people). We don’t kill as beautiful animal. On Christmas we only kill: hen, chicken, pork and cow. Those sacrifices have for an honourable purpose, maintaining our traditions in shape of Catalan Christmas Soup.

To start you will need some instruments:

Two “paelleros”  Usually this instrument is employed to cook “paella”  but, now we will use it for pans.

Why we don’t put the pans in the kitchen, as usually?
Here is the reason why.

From now we will name this pan as “Pan number one”. If you have any doubt about its size, here you can see another sample.

We will need another pan. “Pan number two”. Later we will explain you what uses everyone.

To stir the soup we will need and instrument ad hoc like this ladle.

Yes. This is a real massive destruction weapon.

Also we need an slotted-spoon as big as ladle (I don’t shut it because it also serves to remove weed’s pond). Three or four oven plates (50 cm length 30 cm width minimum) and three big pans more (the normal big pans). In theory, we don’t need anything of this,  but I always find them in the kitchen sink.

A complete utensils collection as: all size spoons, small ladles, tongs, scissors and also glasses, dishes and tooth picks  necessary instruments to eat an appetizer. Something essential to face up as great venture.

Also we will need some small cotton net bags (neither I cannot shut them because I don’t remember in which drawer I kept them last year). Aprons, clothes, napkins for appetizer, caps and scarfs and that’s all.

We can to get down to work but before we need the food ingredients.

You must bear in mind that all these quantities are calculated for a large family,  and also we bear in mind small circumstances as: “Nobody must be still hungry” or “I’m afraid that we have underestimated “. As a result, in addition of aforementioned instruments, you will need a lot of Tupperwarre for your dear brother-in-law/sister-in-law/nephews/nieces up to the neighbours tomorrow can taste your soup.

In the end,  you always will hear your mother-in-law’s voice saying “Look! there was a lot of food left over. I think is cabbage fault”.

Ingredients:

One hen.

A half chicken and some extra chicken legs and some “carcanadas” (Catalan word means skeleton chicken more or less, I cannot find a more accurate translation)

Big meat balls (about 350 gr everyone) We calculate one for two each people but, we always add two more just in case they are very hungry, and two more in case we underestimate. Total: fourteen big meat balls.

White Catalan sausage (look the photograph below) We calculate in the same way, but due to my nephew likes it a lot. Total: fifteen.

Black blood sausage. (Puagh!! I don’t like it) These one have not a great success in my family. Total: 8.

Streaky bacon “a lot, put a lot, it leaves a good tastes in the soup”, says my mother-in-law.  Total: one kg. We are on Christmas!.

Meat, veal meat. About three kg cut on three or four pieces. “if you have put a bit more, they have also eaten”

Three or four veal bones “Knee bones, this is very important” I think it is not necessary to say whom is that voice.

And talking about my mother-in-law, she loves pig feet (Yes, my dear US readers, here people eat pig feet. I don’t like it) “I have enough with one “  Total: four

Let’s go with vegetables

Four Paperina cabbage.

Potatoes: Two or better enough three Kilograms

Carrot: one Kg

A bit of dumb, leek and parsnip but, never celery, in Catalan Christmas soup we never put celery. The reason why?. Mi mother-in-law says.

Garbanzo bean: two Kg.

OMG. I forgot the small meat balls. Besides the big meat balls in my family we add small ones in the soup (about a tenth part to the big ones) .

And obviously the “galets”. Those you see in the photograph below are the normals, The Christmas’s are bigger, biggest like an elephant compared to an ant.

Let’s go.

This recipe was written by my daughter, it has lost a lot  in translation from Catalan to Spanish and from Spanish to English. So  if anybody from Dakota try to cook it,  this time I cannot warrant the success.

Fill pan number 1 with cold water and put inside the hen, chicken, bones, dumb, leek and parsnip.

It must boil until hen smashed. Like this.

It is very important to remove  the scum. This is the scum

Once you have removed the hen and the other ingredients you can add the meat, the sausage and the balls.

The black sausage must be into a cotton net bag if you don’t wish to spent a lot of time fishing them into the pan.

We cook the vegetables in another pan (the third one). Never use the liquid from vegetables cooking in the soup. The Paperina cabbage has a great ability to sour the soup.

To cook the paste (the galets) I recommend  you following manufacturer’s  instructions. Cook them in a new pan (the fourth one) and when they are just ready move them to the pan number 1.

Now you can add the small meat balls.  You have cooked them previously in another pan (the fifth one) in order to not difficult enough more the paste “galets” cooking timing.

The salt? When my grandmother says, not before, not later.

How do you eat this? Some people eat the soup before  and later the meat with the vegetables. But my uncle Xavier put all things in the same plate. Everybody in his own way.

In any case, and the most important thing. You help yourself a small portion. Later, wether if you for it or not,  my grandmother will put a portion more.

This is my grandmother’s hand.

See you

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