Did you ever wonder that cooking brings the best memories with our loved ones? In the beginning, when I heard such a thing from my mother, I really did not put much thought into it. Me cooking? That’s crazy, my mother can do all the cooking and I can help with the tasting part, then washing the dishes afterwards. But as time passed, seeing my mother cook with a loving passion made me realize one thing.

Cooking different dishes brings a different vibe in the kitchen. The music, the traditional ingredients, and the story behind it.

My mother would prepare a heavenly tasting Spanish soup called “Galdo Gallego” that was passed on by her mother for special occasions. This recipe is one popular dish from her hometown, Galicia, Spain. Its rich creamy taste with different meats has everyone’s mouth drooling.  My mother knows that abuelita’s heartwarming traditional dish never failed in bringing her crazy Spanish family together, especially for the holidays. My mother always cherished the family gatherings and behind the scenes in the kitchen.

As she prepares the soup in her home, she remembers the times back home with her siblings and her mother. How her siblings took turns to set the table for 6 people and rushed to get the fresh wine for their mother in the wine cellar. My mother and her siblings always missed the presence of their father at the dinner table. But his presence was always deep in their hearts.

You can hear the radio in the background and the sound of 5 anxious children waiting to taste a bit of their favorite soup dish. Time was not a problem; for three hours, the little children always tried to sneak a taste. It was difficult, you had abuelita yelling from a distance every 15 minutes.

“No me roban el chorizo”. Stop stealing the chorizo; there won’t be any left for dinner. Cries out abuelita.

The Spanish chorizo is the best part that everyone loves from the tasty soup. Just taking one bite, the juice drips down to the plate and bread is waiting on the side, ready to be picked up for the dip. 

Helping around the kitchen was a must for my mother and her siblings. Making the soup took a lot of time. The twins peeled the onions and tears ran down their cheeks.  My mother and the girls would help peel potatoes. While abuelita cut the chorizo and smoked ham. Abuelita would stir all the ingredients and wait for them to be cooked well. She was the teacher, teaching her children step by step of how to prepare the “Caldo Gallego”.

All five children, including my mother, learned how to make their favorite soup and their bond grew close each time in their kitchen.

       “Galdo Gallego”

• 4 GOYA Spanish chorizo
• 1 bag white cannellini beans
• 3 potatoes, peeled and diced
• 4  cups of chopped cabbage
• 5 chicken drums unseasoned
• 2 thick slices of smoked ham
• 1 peeled onion, chopped

You must boil the diced peeled potatoes into a medium-size cooking pot for 40 minutes then add your chicken drums. You do not have to season the chicken. Usually, the ingredients will bring flavor to the soup. Add half of the white cannellini beans into the pot. Leave to boil at a low temperature for 20 minutes. The potatoes and the white cannellini beans cannot be too soft.

Add the cut chorizo and the smoked ham. Give it 5 minutes and then add the diced onions and the 4 cups of chopped cabbage.

Boiling the ingredients take time and it is always good to taste them to see if they need more time in the pot.  The smoked ham and chorizo tend to be salty. Be sure to taste before adding salt.

Cooking in the kitchen is a piece of work. Just remember to have the right amount of ingredients and a great mixture of different spices and your dish will be all set.

This recipe was handed down to me. It was hard to learn in the beginning, but I enjoyed the quality time with my mother. My mother and I grow closer each time we prepare different dishes. I look back at what my mother said, and she was not wrong. Well let me rephrase.. mothers are never wrong. Cooking brings memories with your loved ones. My mother is my teacher and my best friend. I wouldn’t change our incredible bond in our kitchen. Because of her, I became a passionate cooker.

Gracias,

Te amo mama,

Tu hijita Estefania.