This is a Catalan recipe that has been restricted to family environments or, at best, to menu restaurants (because they offer homemade meals, of course). It is quite strong and satiating, so perfect to withstand the cold winter. It is usually made with cut pork ribs and botifarra is often added. The botifarra is a fairly thick pork meat sausage that must be cooked (grilled, oven, fried) to be consumed.
INGREDIENTS (4 people)
- 300 grams (11 oz) of thick noodles (to give you an idea, thick like bucatini but much shorter)
- 11 ounces (300 grams) pork ribs, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, more or less
- 1 large botifarra (optional)
- 1 liter of broth, 5 cups, of meat or chicken
- 4/6 ripe red tomatoes
- 1 large red onion
- 1 green bell pepper
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 cup of white wine
- Salt
- ground black pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil (it also works with sunflower or corn)
In a large, deep pan, add a generous splash of olive oil and brown the two cloves of garlic over medium heat. When they are brown we remove them and discard, then adding the ribs and botifarra cut into segments of an inch in length, more or less.
Once all the meat is well browned, remove and reserve.
In the same oil where we have fried the meat, pour the green pepper and the finely chopped onion. When the onion is transparent, add the peeled tomato without seeds, very crushed (you can buy it this way if you don't have time to do it with fresh tomatoes).
When the sauce has taken shape, add the noodles, stirring constantly. When they begin to brown, add the glass of wine and let cook until half has evaporated. We take the opportunity to deglaze the bottom of the pan.
We incorporate the meat that we have previously fried and the broth (if you do not have broth you can use water). Let cook over low heat until the noodles are done, depending on what the manufacturer indicates. Before removing from the heat, season to taste.
They can be served in two ways. There are people who like it with broth and others who prefer it dry. So it is best to ask each diner and everyone is happy.