| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 2 hr 50 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 2 hr 30 min |
| Yield: | About 3 quarts |
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 2 hr 50 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 2 hr 30 min |
| Yield: | About 3 quarts |
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Spanish olive oil
- 1 smoked ham hock, skin scored
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 teaspoons salt, or to taste, divided
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sweet Spanish paprika
- 1 1/2 cups dried white beans, such as navy, rinsed and soaked in cold water overnight
- 1 pound potatoes, peeled and large-diced
- 1 pound turnip tops, rinsed well and coarsely chopped (substitute spring or savoy cabbage if you cannot find turnip greens)
- 1/2 pound Spanish chorizo, thinly sliced crosswise
Instructions
- In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and add the ham hock, onions, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until slits of ham hock have begun to open and vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, bay leaf, 1 teaspoon of the salt, pepper, to taste, and paprika and cook for 1 minute longer. Add 9 cups of water, bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 1 hour. Drain the white beans and add them to the pot. Return to a simmer and continue to cook at a simmer until beans are just beginning to get tender, about 1 hour longer. Remove the ham hock and, when cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the hock and shred into bite size pieces. (Discard skin and bones.) Return the meat to the pot along with the remaining salt (or to taste), potatoes, turnip greens, and chorizo and continue to cook until beans have broken down slightly, potatoes and greens are very tender, about 1 hour longer. Remove the bay leaf and serve hot.
- Note: you may have to add a bit more water if the soup gets too thick during the lengthy cooking time.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 22 servings |
| Calories | 115 |
| Total Fat | 7 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Carbohydrates | 6 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 1 g |
| Protein | 8 g |
| Cholesterol | 22 mg |
| Sodium | 304 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 22 servings |
| Calories | 115 |
| Total Fat | 7 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Carbohydrates | 6 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 1 g |
| Protein | 8 g |
| Cholesterol | 22 mg |
| Sodium | 304 mg |
Reviews
I am of Spanish descent and have been eating Caldo Gallego all my life. But I hadn’t made it in a while and wanted to make sure I remembered all the ingredients that go in it. I found this recipe and it sounded authentic, so I made it. This recipe is perfect! It’s as good as it gets. And 100% authentic. Seriously, it was awesome. I used turnip greens, but if I hadn’t had turnip greens, I would’ve use collard greens, kale or mustard greens. Cabbage definitely works, but the slight bitterness of the other greens is really part of the whole Caldo Gallego experience. Thank you, Emeril.
Used a meaty ham bone instead of ham hock and savoy cabbage. Very good. Used a dash of vinegar and crushed red pepper in my bowl. Maybe next time I will be braver and use hot chorizo.
I have tried several Caldo Gallego recipes, because we sampled this soup all over Galician and northern Portugal. Usually, any recipe from Emeril is dependable, but my experience with this one was less than desirable. The flavoring from the chorizo and amount of salt was much too strong, the time to finish the beans in the pot was too long, and I needed to add 4 cups more water than stated in order to finish the beans. Maybe the beans (I did presoak them) should be added to the pot at the beginning of all that simmering. I have other recipes for this beautiful soup that are much better. I will be chucking this one!
One of my favorite foods from my time in Miami. Delicious and easy, perfect for a cold day. I used canned beans (added 30 minutes before completion) this time though next time I want to try the dry beans to see if there is a change of flavor.
Is very simple and easy to follow