OLLA GITANA--A WAYFARER’S VEGETABLE STEW

 

Old-fashioned olla stewpot.

The olla is the great stewpot, source of everything delicious—comfort food from mother’s kitchen; lusty soups with legumes and sausage; delicate broths, and sumptuous stews. The olla is both sustenance and jubilation. Everyday and fiesta.

The potbellied stewpot, which can be set on a tripod over a cooking fire, is the cooking vessel for gypsy wayfarers and itinerant laborers, who might pluck a few vegetables from a field or fruits from an orchard on their passage down a country road. Their vegetable and legume stew came to be known as olla gitana or “gypsy pot.” 

Although vegetarian, this stew is remarkably contundente—robust—packed with nourishment and flavor. Perfect winter days.

Olla Gitana comes from the region of Murcia, famed for its horticulture. It includes chickpeas and often white beans as well as squash, flat green beans (bajoques) and pears. Yes, pears. The Andalusian version usually has the addition of a maja’o, or “mash” of fried bread, almonds and garlic.

Murcia produces superb sweet pimentón, paprika that is sun-dried, not smoked, which would typically be used in this recipe. But, add a little smoked pimentón, if that pleases you. Some might even like a pinch of hot pimentón picante, hot paprika. Be sure to add a sprig of mint to the hot stew at the end. 

A vegetarian stew, with both chickpeas and white beans, squash, potatoes and green beans, flavored with a sofrito of onions, tomatoes and pimentón. The surprise ingredient is pears!

A robust vegetable stew. Here, finished with fried garlic and almonds.

Gypsy Stewpot

Olla Gitana

You will need cooked chickpeas and white beans for this recipe. If using dry legumes, soak them overnight, drain and cook in fresh water until tender. Or, use canned or jarred peas and beans, drained and rinsed. Use wide, flat green beans (romano beans), if possible. If they are fresh, cut them in short lengths and blanch them before adding to the stewpot. I just happened to have a jar of beans in conserva in my pantry (they had been requisitioned for a sailing voyage and never used), so I incorporated them. 

Use any variety of firm pear for this stew. If pears are soft, add them at the very end of cooking time. Cut small ones in quarters, large ones in chunks.

I served the bowls of stew with a refrito of fried sliced garlic and almonds.

Jars of legumes, canned tomatoes go into the stew.

Serves 6-8.

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, chopped

Pinch of saffron threads

1 tablespoon pimentón (paprika, not smoked)

1 cup crushed tomatoes

2 cups cooked and drained chickpeas

7 cups water

1 carrot, cut in pieces

1 pound squash or pumpkin, cut in chunks

¾ pound potatoes, cut in chunks

2-3 teaspoons salt

1 bay leaf

Pinch of dried mint

2 cups cooked and drained cannellini beans

2 cups canned or cooked green beans, drained

2-3 pears

Fresh mint, to serve

For the refrito (optional)

Olive oil

Sliced garlic

Almonds, chopped

Red pepper flakes or minced red chile (optional)

Sofrito with pimentón.

Heat the oil in a skillet and sauté the onion and garlic until softened, 3 minutes. Add the saffron and fry it briefly. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the pimentón. Add the tomatoes. Return the skillet to the heat and cook until the tomatoes lose their moisture. Remove from the heat.

Add the onion-tomato sofrito to a large stew pot. Add the chickpeas, water, carrot,  squash and potatoes. Season with salt, bay and dried mint. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat and cook, covered, 20 minutes. Add the cannellini beans and continue cooking, 5-10 minutes or until the potatoes and squash are tender. 

Peel the pears, remove cores and, if they are small, quarter them. If large, cut the pears in chunks. Add the pears to the stew pot with the green beans. Cook 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and allow to settle 5 minutes.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a small skillet. Fry sliced garlic with chopped almonds and red pepper flakes, if desired. 

Serve the vegetable stew with sprigs of fresh mint and a spoonful of the garlic-almond oil.

Be sure to add a spring of fresh mint to the stew before serving.