Winter in Valencia can be tough. Humidity and the absence of central heating in most of the houses are not helping. Thus a bowl of hearty soup is the ideal solution to warm you up on a cold winter day.
Puchero
The recipe of puchero varies from house to house but it is basically a broth from any meat you like and vegetables. You can use beef and pork bones with some chicken. As for the vegetables, most common are potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrot, parsley root, celery and turnip. After the puchero is cooked, all the ingredients are removed from the pot. The broth is usually served with noodles only while the meat and vegetables are served on a different plate. Interesting fact: most people use artificial yellow coloring to make the soup more yellow. It’s the same food colorant used in paella. Find the Valencian puchero recipe here, because nothing beats the winter chill like a bowl of hot puchero.
Potaje de garbanzos
Potaje is a chickpea stew with Spanish ham. First, put ham bone, beef bones, bacon, garlic and pepper to the pot and bring to boil. Then lower heat and cook for 30 minutes. After that, add chickpeas and cook again until everything is soft. When finished, remove the bones and add potatoes with a little salt. Cook until the potatoes are soft. Some people also add spinach and chorizo. Voilà, your potaje is ready!
Crema de verduras
Crema de verduras is a very nourishing comfort food ideal for cold February days. Normally, the soup has many vegetables in it with one as a base – usually it’s pumpkin, zucchini, carrots or cauliflower. After you’ve carefully chosen your veggies, mix them all together, add some cream and croutons on the top and enjoy your crema.
Sopa de lentejas
Extremely thick and nutritious soup that is just perfect for winter. It’s a traditional lentil soup with jamón cubes. Obviously, the more jamón, the better.
Sopa de ajo
Sopa de ajo is a garlic soup that you can find in almost every bar. Make a beef broth. Cook some garlic and chopped jamón on the pan, then add the broth and boil. Pour into bowl and crack an egg. Easy and delicious!
