Escudella i carn d'olla
Catalan winter stew of meats, vegetables and beans simmered together. Served as two courses: pasta soup first, then the meats and vegetables on a plate. Christmas Day tradition.
Escudella i carn d'olla is the great winter pot of Catalan cooking, and the canonical Christmas Day meal in many Catalan homes. A single deep pot simmers slowly for hours with chicken, beef, ham bone, butifarra (two kinds, the white and the black), chickpeas, potatoes, cabbage, carrots and a giant Catalan meatball called the pilota, all in one broth. The dish gets served as two distinct courses: first the broth strained over galets (giant snail-shell pasta) eaten as soup; then the meats and vegetables on a flat plate as the main, called the carn d'olla. The hot pasta-soup first course is the unofficial flag of Catalan Christmas Day.
How it's served
Two courses, in order. First: the strained broth poured over cooked galets (large pasta shells), eaten as soup. Second: the meats and vegetables (and the pilota meatball) on a flat plate as the main course, often with allioli on the side. Traditional Catalan Christmas Day lunch.
Regional variation
Every Catalan family has its own version. Some include lamb, others stick to chicken-and-beef. The pilota (the meatball) varies in size and seasoning by region; the Empordà version often includes pine nuts. The leftover meats become the filling for canelons eaten on Sant Esteve (26 December), the canonical Boxing Day follow-up.
- Origin
- Catalonia
- Etymology
- Escudella from the Latin scutella ('small dish'); carn d'olla means 'pot meat' in Catalan.
Where to try it in Barcelona
4 restaurants on Guidavera mention escudella i carn d'olla in their kitchen description.
Frequently asked
What is escudella i carn d'olla?
A Catalan winter stew of chicken, beef, ham bone, sausages, chickpeas, potatoes, cabbage and a giant pilota meatball, all simmered together in one pot. Served as two courses: pasta-soup first (the broth over galets), meats and vegetables second. The traditional Catalan Christmas Day meal.
What are galets?
Large pasta shells (about an inch long, hollow inside) used specifically for the Catalan escudella. The hot broth gets poured over them; they fill with the soup and become the canonical first course of Christmas lunch. Sold seasonally at every Catalan supermarket in December.
What's the pilota in escudella?
A large Catalan meatball made of minced pork, garlic, breadcrumbs, parsley and egg, sometimes pine nuts, simmered with the stew. It's the showpiece of the meats course, sliced thick and divided across the table. Variants exist by region; the Empordà version uses more pine nuts.
Related terms
- CanelonsCatalan cannelloni stuffed with chopped roast meat and béchamel, traditionally eaten on Boxing Day (Sant Esteve, 26 December) using the leftovers of Christmas dinner.
- ButifarraThe Catalan family of pork sausages: fresh ones grilled over coals, cured blood-based ones, and a sweet lemon-and-sugar oddity from the Empordà.
- AllioliPungent Catalan emulsion of garlic and olive oil. Traditionally no egg. Eaten with grilled meats, paella and fish.
- Cap i potaCatalan slow-cooked stew of veal head and foot, sometimes with chickpeas, in a tomato-paprika broth. A working-class Sunday classic.