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Revision as of 00:10, 5 February 2008 by Xueexueg (talk | contribs) (→Uncertain Origin of Name)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Olla podrida is a Spanish stew. Its principal ingredient is the red bean, and is well appreciated when it is made with the exquisite red beans of Ibeas de Juarros. The beans are traditionally prepared in a clay pot over several hours (hence its name) until they become soft. To the stew one adds the following "powerful" ingredients: bacon, morcilla from Burgos, chorizo, and the ribs, ears, and snout of smoked pig. The dish sometimes includes la bola or stuffing (similar to the cocido stew), finished with egg. It is eaten as a main course, although one serves beans first and then the meats separately.
History
Olla podrida is a popular dish in Spain, especially Castile, and dates back to the Middle Ages.
After the French arrived, they fell in love with the recipe for olla podrida and imported it into their country as potpourri. Like olla podrida, it contains a wide variety of ingredients, and the word took on in French the metaphorical sense of a mixture of diverse things.
In the 19th century it also acquired (also in France) the meaning of a musical composition formed from fragments or themes from diverse works. And it was precisely with this musical meaning that France returned to Spain a French-style olla podrida, with the word "potpourri." It is said that "the orchestra interpreted a potpourri of..." because it sounds better than saying "interpreted an olla podrida (rotten stew) of..." Such is the most frequent use of "potpourri," that however can be used to allude to any mixture of diverse things.
Uncertain Origin of Name
The name translates literally to "rotten pot," leading to theories that the stew incorporated old bits of meat which were starting to "go off." Many sources, including Spanish Misplaced Pages, state that it was originally called olla poderida, where poderida meant "powerful" (olla refers to stew or to the stew pot), referring to the powerful ingredients that it included, or because only the rich and powerful could afford to eat this dish. According to this folk etymology, following certain unstated rules of the language, the "e" disappeared and left the word "podrida," "rotten."
There is little evidence to support the poderida story. Although it is frequently repeated today, a Spanish etymology site searched the CORDE diachronic corpus of Spanish and found that while olla podrida had occurred in printed Spanish as early as 1540, poderida's first and only occurrence in the corpus is from 1899. Furthermore, according to the site, the form poderida has never existed in Castellano.
In Don Quixote -- first published in 1605 -- Cervantes has the gluttonous Sancho Panza say these words:
- "This plate that is steaming in front of me appears to me to be olla podrida, because of the diversity of ingredients that there are in some ollas podridas, I won't be able to stop running into some that is to me of taste and benefit..."
Regional Association
It is the dish most representative of the cuisine of the region of Burgos, in particular the city of Burgos itself and its surrounding villages. It is primarily consumed during the winter months and during times of bad weather.
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