Andorra: Escudella

Name: Andorra: Escudella
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Andorra
Ingredients: ground pork: 8 oz; Kosher Salt: 1/2 tsp; minced garlic: 1 clove; cumin: 1/2 tsp; black pepper: 1/4 tsp; nutmeg: 1/8 tsp; vinegar: 1 tsp; smoked pork neck bones: 1 1/2 lbs; cannellini beans: 2 cans; garbanzo beans: 1 can; white rice: 1/4 cup dry; pasta shells: 1 cup dry; Potatoes: 1 large; green cabbage: 1/2 head; boneless skinless chicken: 12 oz; proscuitto: 2 slices; salt and pepper: to taste; canola oil: 2 Tbsp

Cuisine:

Andorra

Ingredients

For the Butifarra Sausage
8 oz ground pork
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vinegar
For the Soup
1 1/2 lbs smoked pork neck bones
you can also use ham bones, marrow bones, and pretty much any other bone to flavor the broth. I was a big fan of the smokey flavor.
2 cans cannellini beans
rinsed and drained
1 can garbanzo beans
rinsed and drained
1/4 cup dry white rice
brown would be good too!
1 cup dry pasta shells
smallish; I used whole wheat
1 large Potatoes
chopped
1/2 head green cabbage
sliced
12 oz boneless skinless chicken
cut into pieces
2 slices proscuitto
chopped; feel free to omit this ingredient, you have lots of meat!
to taste salt and pepper
if using smoked bones, you won't need much if any
2 Tbsp canola oil
or olive of choice

Directions

We have had a whirlwind of a week. Saturday I ran a 1/2 marathon in the freezing cold, celebrated Cooking Matters graduation with the fabulous group of folks I’ve been so lucky as to spend my last six Saturdays cooking with, went to Bastian’s christening party, met my fellow runners for a celebratory happy hour that turned into a night out, and then spent the rest of the night in the emergency room with Courtney whose flu had worsened significantly by the time I got home. Sunday, I hosted twelve lovely ladies for our Book Club’s annual book swap brunch, where we exchanged (or purged) well over 100 books and found out we’ll be going to Taos, New Mexico for our 10 year anniversary trip! Monday, we went to see Green Day with a buddy who gets VIP tickets because his brother used to be in a band with the drummer. We didn’t get to meet the band, but settled for a couple free beers. By the time we were headed home, we were in an ice storm rather than the beautiful snow we’d all envisioned. After working from home on Tuesday while the ice melted, we went to the N St. Village Gala, an inspiring night honoring just a few of the amazing women who prove “She Will Persist” rings true despite even the more difficult of circumstances.

Oh, and I learned where Andorra is! A tiny Catalan country landlocked between France and Spain. Somewhere along the way, I’d developed a nasty cold, and by Wednesday it had really taken hold. Nothing sounded more comforting than a bowl of Escudella, a rich and meaty stew that is the national dish of Andorra. The only problem, of course, was that I had to find the energy to make it!

In historic times, escudella was served on Sundays and Thursdays. Typical service is in two parts, the first course is the escudella proper: a soup consisting of a meat broth with pasta, rice or both. Next up is the carn d’olla, all the meat used in the broth, served afterwards in a tray along with the vegetables used. When both parts are served mixed together, it is called escudella barrejada, which is what we have here. There’s yet another version, escudella de Nadal, that is commonly served on Christmas.

All the descriptions I’ve read of this soup describe it as fatty, but I actually didn’t find that to be the case. Meat heavy, certainly, but mine was also packed with whole wheat pasta, two types of legumes, skinless chicken breast and a whole lot of cabbage! We weren’t able to find the ham and marrow bones the recipe called for, so we went for these smoked pork neck bones instead and I have to say: highly recommended! They provided a wonderful smoky flavor to the broth. Overall, I found this soup to be extraordinarily delicious, and the best of comfort foods during a cold week when we were both trying to overcome a cold/flu.

Recipe Source: Chef Bolek (Blog)

Steps

1 Done 1 hour	Put the bones in a large Dutch oven and cover with water - I didn't measure, but probably about 12 cups. Bring to a boil and add the chicken. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Total simmer time will be about 1 hour, but I've reordered the steps so you can do other things while the broth gets started!
2 Done	For the Sausage Mix all the ingredients for the sausage in a small bowl. Form 8-12 small meat balls. Gently brown all sides of the sausage in cast iron skillet with vegetable oil over medium heat.
3 Done	Add sausage to the simmering broth along with the beans and garbanzo beans.
4 Done	Once the broth has been simmering one hour total, remove the bones and set aside. Add the rice and potatoes. Simmer for 30 minutes.
5 Done	When the bones are cool enough to handle, remove the remaining meat and stir it into your soup. With 10 minutes remaining, add the pasta shells, cabbage, and chopped proscuitto. If yours is anything like mine, your pot will be nearly overflowing. Simmer another 10 minutes and serve!
6 Done