AI-generated image
Caldo gallego
Caldo gallego: Galicia's winter broth of greens, white beans, potatoes and pork
On cold, rainy days in Santiago, Lugo or any village in between, a bowl of caldo starts lunch: a light broth with white beans, potatoes and turnip greens (grelos) or cabbage, flavoured with pork. This contains pork (cured rib and unto, Galician cured pork fat; bacon fat works in its place). The pork is cooked with the beans first, then the potatoes and greens go in. A common mistake is adding the greens too early, so they turn grey; they need only the last 15–20 minutes. Chef's tip: caldo tastes better reheated the next day, so make a big pot.
- Total time
- 140 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (2)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: If using cured ribs, soak them in cold water in the fridge, covered, overnight with the beans to draw out the salt.
5 minStep 2: Drain the 9 oz dried white beans and put them in a large pot with 14 oz cured or fresh pork ribs, 1 ¾ oz unto (cured pork fat) or smoked bacon and the 10 ½ cups water. Bring slowly to the boil, skim off the foam, then simmer gently, partly covered, for 1½ hours, until the beans are tender and the meat comes away from the bone.
95 minStep 3: Cut the 1 ⅓ lb potatoes into rough chunks by snapping them off with a knife and add them to the pot. Simmer for 10 minutes.
10 minStep 4: Add the 14 oz turnip tops (grelos) or green cabbage and simmer for 15–20 minutes more, until the potatoes are soft and the greens are tender but still bright.
20 minStep 5: Check the pork has reached at least 160°F and is tender. Taste the broth and add 1 tsp salt as needed; cured pork is salty, so season at the end. Rest for 10 minutes before serving, with the meat in the bowls or on the side.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 22 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Fibre
- 10 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does caldo gallego take?
- About 140 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 120 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of potatoes?
- Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Soto Banjar
Along the rivers of Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, breakfast often means soto Banjar eaten at a wooden riverside warung, sometimes after a dawn trip to the floating market. Unlike the turmeric sotos of Java, this broth is pale and clear, perfumed with the sweet spices that traders brought up the river centuries ago: cinnamon, cloves, star anise, cardamom and nutmeg. Shredded chicken, glass noodles, carrot and a boiled egg go into the bowl with rice cakes, and lime and a little chilli sharpen it at the table. Chef's tip: toast the whole spices in the pan for a minute before the paste goes in; it brings out their sweetness without the dusty edge of ground spice.
Sopa da pedra
Almeirim, a market town in the Ribatejo, is the capital of this soup; its restaurants serve it every day, and each bowl arrives with a clean stone at the bottom, after the folk tale of a friar who 'made soup from a stone' by talking villagers into giving him everything else. This is a pork soup: red kidney beans simmer with chouriço, morcela blood sausage and a piece of pork belly, then potatoes, carrots and coriander finish it into a thick, hearty bowl. Chef's tip: cook the sausages whole and slice them at the end, so they stay juicy and don't turn the broth greasy.
Miso soup
Miso soup (味噌汁) is drunk every day in homes all over Japan, at breakfast as well as dinner, beside a bowl of rice. The base is dashi; this vegan version uses kombu and dried shiitake instead of bonito, which gives it a deep, rounded flavour. Silken tofu and wakame seaweed are the classic fillings. It takes ten minutes; just remember not to boil the miso. Chef's tip: add the miso at the very end and never let it boil. Boiling kills the miso's fresh, fermented aroma; Japanese cooks say the soup should only 'smile', with the surface barely trembling.




