Pote Gallego

Pote Gallego belongs to Galicia, the wet green corner that knows what a winter pot is for. It is not just a light caldo gallego, though they are cousins. This one is fuller: white beans, grelos, potato, lacón, chorizo, and a little pork fat doing slow work in the pot until the broth is thick enough to feed you properly.

The method that decides it is the potato. Break it into chunks instead of cutting neat cubes, chascando la patata, so the torn edges release starch and give the broth body. Add it only when the beans are nearly tender. Too early and it falls apart before the beans are ready; too late and the pot tastes like broth with potatoes floating in it. There is no cleverness here. Just the right order.

If you are far from Galicia, use turnip greens first for the grelos, collards or kale next, and know they are a little less peppery. For lacón, use salt pork shoulder if you can find it, or a smoked ham hock if that is what the market gives you; the hock brings more smoke, so use a lighter hand with the chorizo. And use cured Spanish chorizo, not fresh Mexican chorizo. That is another thing entirely, good in its own place, wrong here.

Soak the beans. Desalt the pork if it needs it. Hold the pot at a quiet simmer and salt only at the end, because the pork may have already done half the seasoning for you. Siempre sale, si lo sigues. In the Margin beside this one I keep only a small warning: do not rush the greens. They must soften into the broth, not just visit it.