Veal and Pork Stew (Spanish Olla Aranesa)

There is nothing better than a rich, filling stew, slow-cooked and made from fresh, local ingredients, to warm yourself up in the only valley on the Atlanti-facing side of the Catalan Pyrenees, el Val d’Aran. The region has stunning landscapes and charming villages where the smell of olla aranesa stew is synonymous with home.

9 oz white haricot beans
7 oz pork belly
7 oz veal shank
9 oz boiling fowl
11 oz black sausage
11 oz white butifarra sausage
2 carrots
1 onion
11 oz cabbage
11 oz potatoes
5 oz thick noodles
sea salt

Meatballs:
¼ lb ground veal
¼ lb ground lean pork
2 oz ground belly pork
4 tsp fresh white bread crumbs
1 egg
1 clove garlic
1 sprig of parsley
sea salt
black pepper, freshly cracked
flour
olive oil, for frying

Leave the haricot beans to soak overnight. Peel and slice the carrots, onions, potatoes, and cabbage. Wash and chop the parsley. Peel and chop the garlic.

Place the beans with the belly pork, veal shank, boiling fowl, carrots, and onion in a pan of cold water. Season, bring to a boil and then simmer. When half cooked, add the potatoes and the cabbage and bring back to a boil. If necessary, add cold water. After a few minutes add the thick noodles and finally the butifarra sausage. Check the seasoning.

When the meat is cooked, remove, cut into pieces then return to the pan. Make the paste for the small meatballs with the ground meats, salt, pepper, bread crumbs, egg, garlic, and parsley. Fry in small quantities. Drain and add to the hot pot. Bring to a boil, remove from the heat and serve.

Makes 6 servings.