Cap i Pota Català

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide heavy cazuela or Dutch oven, 28-30cm
• •Mortar and pestle for the picada
• •Small bowl for soaking the nyora
• •Sharp knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Check the casquería

   Cut the cooked veal head and trotter into 3cm pieces and the tripe into strips about 1cm wide. If the pieces smell clean and faintly meaty, leave them alone. If they smell sharp from the packet, cover with water, bring to a boil for 5 minutes, drain, and pat dry. Keep any clean cooking jelly from the butcher, because that is flavour and body.

   Do not use raw tripe or raw feet in this timing. They must be cooked separately until fully tender before you begin the stew.
2. 2

   Soak the nyora

   Put the dried nyora in a small bowl and cover it with boiling water for 15 minutes. Split it open, scrape out the soft red flesh with the back of a knife, and discard the skin and seeds. If you cannot find nyora, use an extra teaspoon of sweet pimentón later. It is a compromise, not a tragedy.

3. 3

   Cook the sofregit

   Warm the olive oil in a wide heavy cazuela or pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions with a good pinch of salt and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring often, until they are dark gold, soft, and jammy. Add the 3 chopped garlic cloves and cook 2 minutes more. Stir in the grated tomato and nyora flesh, then cook another 20 to 25 minutes until the sofregit is thick, dark brick-red, and the oil shows at the edges. This is the step. Rush it and the whole dish tastes thin.

   Canned tomato is fine here when fresh tomatoes are pale. This is a cooked sofregit, not a raw summer tomato dish.
4. 4

   Deglaze the base

   Take the pot briefly off the heat and stir in the sweet pimentón so it blooms without scorching. Return the pot to medium heat, add the vi ranci or wine, and scrape the base until the wine has almost disappeared. Add the bay leaf, the guindilla if using, and 400ml of the stock or cooking liquid.

5. 5

   Simmer the meats

   Add the veal head, trotter, and tripe, turning them gently through the sauce. The liquid should come about halfway up the pieces, not drown them; add a little more stock if the pot is too dry. Bring it to a quiet bubble, then lower the heat and simmer partly covered for 45 to 60 minutes. Stir now and then with care. The sauce should turn glossy and sticky as the gelatin melts into it.

6. 6

   Make the picada

   In a mortar, pound the almonds or hazelnuts with the reserved garlic clove, bread, parsley, a pinch of salt, and the chocolate if using. Work it to a rough paste, then loosen it with a ladleful of hot sauce from the pot. The picada is not decoration. It tightens the sauce and gives it that Catalan finish.

7. 7

   Finish the sauce

   Stir the picada into the pot and simmer very gently for 10 to 15 minutes, until the sauce coats a spoon and clings to the tripe. Taste for salt and black pepper. If it is too thick, add a splash of water. If it is loose, simmer uncovered a little longer. Pésalo, no lo adivines, then trust the pot.

8. 8

   Rest and serve

   Take the pot off the heat and let it rest at least 15 minutes before serving, or cool it and keep it for tomorrow, which is better. Reheat gently so the gelatin loosens without catching on the bottom. Serve in warm bowls or straight from the cazuela, with pa de pagès or another good country bread for the sauce.

Chef Tips

• •Buy the cap i pota from a butcher or triperia that sells it already cleaned and cooked. Clean offal should smell fresh and faintly meaty, never sour or harsh. Sourcing wins here; a perfect sofregit cannot fix tired casquería.
• •If you cannot find veal head, use 350g cooked veal cheek or beef cheek with 450g cooked split calf's foot. The cheek gives meat, the foot gives gelatin. It will taste less like the Catalan market stall, but the sauce will still set properly.
• •If a butcher gives you raw tripe, head, or feet, simmer them separately with water, onion, bay leaf, and salt until fully tender, usually 2 and a half to 4 hours depending on the cut. Chill, cut, and start this recipe with the cooked pieces and some strained cooking liquid.
• •Do not hurry the sofregit. Onion and tomato need to lose their water and turn dark before the offal goes in. That is the difference between a deep Catalan stew and meat boiled in tomato.
• •Make it the day before if you can. The gelatin sets firm in the cold and melts back into a silkier sauce when reheated gently. Loosen with water, not more stock, so you do not flatten the seasoning.
• •A young Catalan red from Montsant, Terra Alta, or Conca de Barberà sits well with this. Nothing heavy and sweet. The stew already has all the weight it needs.

Advance Preparation

• •The sofregit can be made 2 days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Warm it before adding the wine and offal.
• •The cooked offal can be cut 1 day ahead and kept chilled, covered tightly. Keep any clean jelly or cooking liquid with it.
• •The finished stew is best made 1 day ahead. Chill it covered, then reheat gently with a splash of water until the sauce loosens and shines.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 360g)