The European cookbook for American homes (from Italy, Spain, Portugal and France)

The pungent garlic soup of Andalusia, sweet and nutty with almonds, olive oil and thin slices of finely-knit white bread, salted and peppered. Boronia, corn soup. Vermicelli boiled in bullfought beef broth, the paste borrowed from Italy; and many meaty stews served ensopada, with the pot liquor, in the particular style of every province and usually in deep, colorfully decorated plates. But the marrowy chick pea or garbonza soup from the classic olla pudrida is the standard by which to judge all others. SPANISH STEW (Olla Pudrida or Cocido Espahol) 3 pints chick peas Thick flour paste 54 pound each: salt beef, bacon, 1 pint fresh lima beans salt pork and salty sausage 1 small cabbage 1 large chicken, jointed 6 small beets 3 small birds (or 1 pigeon) 6 small carrots 1 pig's tail, ear or snout Y2 pound pork sausage, sliced Salt % pound blood sausage, sliced 1 onion !/4 pound cooked veal 1 clove % pound ham, cooked 2 cloves garlic 2 eggs 6 peppercorns Bread crumbs 12 small potatoes, peeled Soak garbanzos (chick peas), salt beef, bacon, salt pork and salty sausage over night. Drain the meat and put it into a deep kettle with chicken and, if possible, 3 small birds, or a pigeon, certainly a pig's tail, ear or snout. Cover deep with cold water, put over the fire and bring to boiling point. Then lower the flame and cook slowly. Parboil garbanzos, drain, and add them to the stewpot gradually, taking care that the boiling does not cease or the peas will harden. Salt to taste and skim. Add an onion, pierced with a clove; add garlic and peppercorns, cover and seal ketde lid with flour paste. Simmer without stirring for 5 hours. The pot can be shaken occasionally, but the skin of the peas must not be broken or they will not color well and besides, the stew will become mushy. At the end of the fourth hour, place in another large kettle with plenty of water, the fresh lima beans, cabbage, beets, carrots, sliced pork sausage, blood sausage, and meat balls made of minced cooked veal, minced ham, eggs, and enough sifted bread crumbs to hold them in shape. Twenty minutes later, remove some of the broth from the kettle and cook potatoes in it. Just before serving the cocido, season with teaspoon of cinnamon and another of saffron to give the cocido the rich color that stamps it perfect to the Spanish eye. Pile the garbanzos, well-drained, in the center of a large deep platter, circle with the potatoes, and place the meats around them. In another plate serve the other vegetables. Serve both dishes at the same time with the following sauce: SAUCE FOR THE COCIDO (Salsa para el Cocido) 1 clove garlic, minced Salt 1 sweet pepper, minced 1 large potato, cooked 1 teaspoon saffron 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped 3 tomatoes, cooked 2 tablespoons vinegar l/4 cup cocido broth Mix garlic, pepper and saffron in a bowl. Add strained pulp of tomatoes and the potato. Mash all together thoroughly. Add parsley, vinegar and cocido broth. Salt to taste and serve hot. In another bowl serve a cold pepper sauce. Strain the broth in the two cooking pots and use as soup course. A salad and an iced melon, or a compote of fruit, finishes this meal most satisfactorily.