Escudella or Catalan stew Recipe 

Escudella recipe. If there is a recipe that is repeated in almost all the autonomous communities. Although it is different, but basically the same stew.Throughout the Spanish geography we find cooked in different varieties. From the Galician stew, Basque stew, this traditional Catalan escudella, Asturian cauldron, the famous Madrid stew, mountain stew, rotten cauldron, Canarian stew, Andalusian wavy pringa stew, Roast maragatón stew, Maragatú Aragone, and some of them, are sure I forgot ... all variants of the same idea of ​​stew. This is especially true if we pay attention to the definition of this dish given in the RAE Dictionary. The dish is prepared with pork or beef, legumes and vegetables, almost always with chickpeas and potatoes. To which we sometimes add the sausage, which is cooked entirely. Escudella, along with San Esteban cannelloni, is Catalonia's most traditional Christmas dish, found in many homes and often throughout the rest of the year. This is a recipe rich in tradition and flavor.

Ingredients:

• 1 leek
• 2 carrots
• 1 turnip
• 2 sticks of celery
• 2 large potatoes
• 1 parsnip
• 1 onion
• 150 g. chickpeas
• 1 piece of cabbage
• 1 black sausage and another white
• 1 veal leg bone
• 1 bone of veal blood sausage
• 1 veal back bone
• 1 piece of ham
• 1 fingernail and pork knuckle
• 1 piece of pork backbone
• 1 chicken carcass and backbone
• 1 chicken stilt
• Cookies or shark pasta
• For pilots: 200 g. pork
• 200 g. minced beef
• Fresh parsley
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 egg M
• 1 tbsp wheat flour
• 2 tbsps. breadcrumbs
• Salt to taste)

How to prepare:

1. We demineralize salted or salted meat by pouring water 24 hours before the moment when we are going to cook the escudella. I soaked a piece of ham, a nail, a pork knuckle and spine, changing the water 2 or 3 times in 24 hours.
   
   
2. The rest of the meat and bones, in addition to the one that we will use for the pilot and sausages, we dipped in water with vinegar the day before so that they bleed and cleaned of impurities.
   
   
3. The night before, soak the chickpeas with a handful of coarse salt and warm water. As for the water temperature. They say that chickpeas come in contact with water.
   
   
4. Fill with warm water and leave at room temperature, never in the refrigerator. The next day, drain the chickpeas and set aside.
   
   
5. When all ingredients are ready, place all bones and meat, except chicken and sausage, in a very large saucepan. Fill with water, about 7-8 liters and cook.
   
   
6. It should be borne in mind that the amount of liquid in the process will be significantly reduced. In my case, I used my largest pot and all the water I could pour.
   
   
7. Cook the meat for 1 hour, avoiding the formation of foam. Add chicken carcass, chicken base and stilts and cook for another hour. Add the soaked chickpeas and all vegetables except the potatoes. We continue to cook for another hour.
   
   
8. Chickpeas can be cooked in a canvas bag so that we can cook them separately after serving. Add potatoes and sausage and cook for another 30 minutes. In this step, we test the salt and add as much as needed.

Final presentation: 

1. We take out meat and vegetables from the pan, laying them out according to separate sources. Strain the broth to exclude leftover meat and get a pure soup.
   
   
2. At this point, continue or refrigerate the broth until it cools down until the next day. In this way, we make all the fat on the surface rise and harden. We can easily remove it for a lighter, less greasy, and equally delicious meal.
   
   
3. Preparing pilots. To do this, combine all the ingredients except the flour in a bowl. Two minced meat, a nice bunch of parsley, minced garlic clove, a whole egg, bread crumbs and salt. Knead until smooth and form 4-5 arms outstretched. Dust each ball with flour and leave.
   
   
4. We put the broth on the fire and when it boils, add the pilots. Cook meatballs for about 20 minutes and remove.
   
   
5. Add pasta, cookies to the broth and cook for the time indicated by the manufacturer. We serve the escudella in separate bowls, adding some of the pilot slices.

On the table we also put a fountain with the rest of the pilots. Others with meats we can preach and sausages and another with vegetables and chickpeas.