Caldo Gallego-ish

Growing up in Puerto Rico I always loved eating this Galician Broth or "Caldo Gallego".
 This is my interpretation of it using locally found ingredients to recreate the flavors I remember from the one we use to eat at "El Hipopotamo". I'll try and give you as many options as I know just in case you don't find all the ingredients in your area.

The ingredients are:
1. 3x 48oz low sodium chicken broth
2. 1 tbsp smoked spanish paprika
3. 1 tbsp adobo blend without salt
4. 12oz Spanish (not mexican) Chorizo or Andouille sausage 
5. 1 lb fully cooked cubed ham
6. 5-6 oz finely diced Prociutto or Serrano ham / you can substitute with 2 or 3 pieces of ham hock
7. 1 tbsp garlic/oregano paste
     In a food processor add 5 peeled garlic cloves and 1 tsp dried oregano
8. 4 tbsp rice wine vinegar
9. 4 tbsp redwine vinegar
10. 1/4 cup good extra-virging olive oil
11. 12oz frozen pearl onions
12. 12 oz frozen chopped turnips & turnip greens / you can substitute with frozen spinach or collard greens
13. 2lbs. of southern style hashed potatoes (of course you can always peel and diced enough potatoes to get 2 lbs )
14.  A pinch of Saffron (and I mean a pinch since this is powerful stuff it can and will overpower the flavors in any dish if not used in moderate amounts)
15. 2 oz of roasted sweet peppers
16. 2 cans of Cannellini beans
  Salt and Pepper to taste

 The perfect way to eat this dish is with some garlic toast on the side
Instructions and additional substitutions can be read in the next steps



 

The trick with this dish is to be patient and bring everything back to a rolling boil before moving to the next step.
So first let's bring the chicken stock to a rolling boil

once it's boiling add Prociutto or Serrano Ham
If you can't get this ingredients or they are too expensive in your area you can use ham hock.
What you need to do is once the stock has come to a boil add the 2 or 3 pieces of ham hock, preferably ham hock that has enough meat in i,t and you'll need to let it simmer for about an hour or until the meat falls off the bone.
 Then dice everything put back in stock and skim all the fat from the top.

once it's boiling add smoked spanish paprika, adobo and garlic paste.
If you can not find adobo without salt ( I buy mine at Pensey's)  you can use regular adobo seasoning that you can get in most grocery stores nowadays.
You can substitute with regular smoked paprika but it will not be the same even more if you can't find the spanish chorizo wich has smoked paprika in it.

Bring it back to a rolling boil and add the Saffron (remember just a pinch)
There is not a  substitute for saffron that I know of so suggestions are always welcomed.

once it's boiling add the 2 lbs of southern style hashbrowns and start adjusting the salt to your taste

once it's boiling add cubed ham and Chorizo (as you can see I had to use Andouille sausage since I could not find Spanish Chorizo at the store today)
Andouille sausage it's a good substitute but if you can find actual chorizo it makes all the difference.

once it's boiling add the pearl onions and turnip/ turnip greens
you can substitute spinach or collar greens / dont worry too much about the turnip cubes since the 2 lbs of potatoes will make up for any turnip loss

once it's boiling add the vinegars/ the vinegars are very important for this dish. they give this soup a very particular taste and help cutting through the fatty taste of the chorizo, ham, ham hock pieces it also help in the mixing of the flavors.

once it's boiling add the two cans of cannellini beans.
You can substitute with white beans or  white kidney beans
Now we'll change pace and just bring to a simmer

once it's simmering add the sliced sweet bell peppers and olive oil and let simmer for about 10-20 mins adjust salt add some pepper and you are done.

and Presto!!!!! (or Ole!!!)
There you have it Caldo Gallego.
The beauty of this dish is that it lends itself to be tweaked. You can add more or less of any of the ingredients to suit your taste.
 
I hope you try making it and if you like it please vote for me
Thks