Sopa de Galets Catalana

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Tall heavy pot, 7 to 9 litres
• •Fine sieve
• •Piping bag or small teaspoon
• •Wide soup pot for cooking the galets

Instructions

1. 1

   Start the escudella

   Put the chicken, beef, pork bones, ham bone, marrow bone if using, soaked chickpeas, leeks, carrots, onion, celery, turnip, parsnip if using, and cabbage if using into a tall heavy pot. Add 3.5 litres cold water and bring it slowly to a bare simmer. Skim the grey foam that rises in the first 20 minutes; it is dull work, but it gives you the clean caldo this soup needs.

   If your ham bone is very salty, soak it in cold water for 1 hour first. Better to season the broth at the end than fight salt from the start.
2. 2

   Simmer the broth

   Lower the heat and hold the pot at the gentlest simmer for 2 hours 45 minutes to 3 hours, topping up with hot water only if the meats are no longer covered. Do not let it boil hard. A hard boil breaks fat into the broth and makes it cloudy; slow heat draws out flavour and leaves you something clear enough for Christmas.

3. 3

   Mix the pilota

   While the broth cooks, soak the breadcrumbs in the milk for 5 minutes. Mix them with the pork, beef, egg, garlic, parsley, 6g of the salt, and the black pepper until the mixture is sticky and holds together. That stickiness matters; it keeps the pilota inside the galets instead of floating out into the pot.

4. 4

   Stuff the galets

   Fill a piping bag with the pilota mixture, or use a small spoon if that is what you have. Stuff each dry galet firmly but without cracking it, then lightly dust the openings with a little flour. Set them in one layer on a tray. Count on 8 to 10 large galets per person, depending on their size and the appetite at your table.

5. 5

   Strain the caldo

   Lift the meats, vegetables, and chickpeas from the pot and save them for carn d'olla or another meal. Strain the broth through a fine sieve into a clean pot, then let it settle 5 minutes and skim the surface fat if there is too much. Taste and add the remaining 2g salt only if it needs it. The broth should taste full, clean, and gently salted.

6. 6

   Cook the galets

   Bring 2.2 litres of the strained caldo to a steady simmer in a wide pot. Slide in the stuffed galets one by one and cook gently, stirring only enough to keep them from catching, until the pasta is tender and the pilota is cooked through, 18 to 22 minutes depending on the brand. Keep the broth moving softly, not jumping. A fierce boil tears the shells and wastes the work.

7. 7

   Serve the soup

   Ladle the galets into warm deep bowls and cover them with the clear caldo. Serve at once, with extra broth at the table if the pasta drinks too much. The shells should be tender, glossy, and full, the broth golden and clean. Tal como se hace allí, with no trick hiding in it.

Chef Tips

• •True galets are large snail-shaped pasta from Catalonia, often sold in big Christmas boxes. If you cannot find them, use the largest dried shell pasta available. Smaller shells cook faster and hold less pilota, so reduce the cooking time and expect a lighter bowl.
• •Use mixed pork and beef for the pilota, not only lean beef. The pork keeps the filling tender, and the beef gives it shape. If the mixture looks loose, add 10g more breadcrumbs, not a handful guessed over the bowl. Pésalo, no lo adivines.
• •The broth must be strained before the galets go in. Cooking stuffed pasta in the full escudella pot with bones and vegetables knocks the shells about and clouds the soup. Save those meats and vegetables for the second course, or for croquettes the next day.
• •Do not over-salt early, especially if you use a ham bone or serrano end. The broth reduces as it simmers, and salt concentrates. Taste after straining, when you know what you have.
• •For Christmas service, cook the galets shortly before eating. They keep drinking broth as they sit, and nobody asked for swollen pasta at the feast.

Advance Preparation

• •The escudella broth can be made 1 to 2 days ahead. Chill it, lift off the set fat, and reheat only the amount needed for cooking the galets.
• •The pilota mixture can be mixed the day before and kept covered in the refrigerator. Stuff the galets the same day you cook them so the dry pasta does not crack or soften unevenly.
• •If using dried chickpeas, soak them overnight in plenty of cold water. They are optional for this soup bowl, but very much at home in the full escudella.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 600g)