SERVES 6
Catalan cocido is called escudella—or, more properly, escudella i carn d’olla, that second part literally meaning “and meat from the pot.” One version—olla de les quatre carns—is supposed to have “four meats”: veal, pork, chicken, and lamb. (But, unlike the cocidos from central Spain, there is no chorizo or blood sausage.)
It is a quotidian dish that still carries a deep cultural attachment. As Catalan food writer Néstor Luján (1922–1995) put it: “But in the subconscious of a Catalan persists a gratitude to the soup [pot], a nostalgia and maybe inextinguishable desire to return to the old life; good proof of this is that it’s still eaten on Christmas Day for the large family meal.” And so, in a slightly more elaborate form than this workday version here—with a pig’s foot or a piece of ear, and, these days, galets de Nadal (large snail-shaped “Christmas” pasta)—it is prepared for the most important meal of the year in many households.
1. The night before, rinse the garbanzo beans with water. Place them in a large bowl, cover with plenty of water, and soak for at least 12 hours. (If the water is “hard,” add ½> teaspoon baking soda.) Drain, rinse away any yeasty or fermenting odors, and drain again.
2. In a large stockpot over high heat, add the beans, veal shank, beef and pork bones and cover with 5 quarts/4.75 L water. Bring to a rolling boil and skim off any foam that comes up to the surface. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and gently boil for 1 hour. Add the chicken, carrots, celery, onion, turnip, and parsnip; season with salt; cover the pot, and gently boil for 2 more hours.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the cabbage and a large pinch of salt and gently boil until it is tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and keep it in the pot until ready to serve.
4. Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the beef and pork, season with salt and pepper, and begin working in most of the breadcrumbs, reserving a small amount. Form two large, elongated meatballs about 6 inches/15 cm long. Roll them in the remaining breadcrumbs.
5. After the broth has simmered for 3 hours, add the meatballs. (If needed, to keep the soup from overflowing the pot, remove some root vegetables.) Simmer for 45 minutes.
6. Strain the broth into a large saucepan, discarding the bones and herbs. Bring it to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta, cover the pot, and boil until it is al dente, 10 to 15 minutes, following the time indicated on the package.
7. Meanwhile, arrange the meats, meatballs, and beans on a large serving platter. Drain the cabbage and place it on the platter. Cover to keep warm.
8. Serve the soup with pasta in bowls as a first course. Follow this with the platter of meats and beans as a second course.
NOTE: If the pasta shells are quite large—meaning they take more than 10 minutes to boil—first partially boil them in plain water so that they don’t suck up all of the broth. For pasta that takes 12 to 15 minutes, boil the shells in water for 2 to 5 minutes, drain, and immediately transfer them to the boiling broth. For even larger pasta shells, boil them first for about 7 minutes before draining and adding to the broth to finish cooking.