Galets

Traditionally Christmas lunch in Catalonia is a hearty caldo or soup made from sausage, cabbage, a fowl, pork mince balls with pinions or pine kernels, and chopped ribs, boiled for hours until rich and flavoursome.

The meat and vegetables are then taken out and the residual broth is then fortified with the addition of large pasta shells in the shape of snail shells. Called galets they are then served in the broth as a first course before the main dish of boiled meats.

The Rambla in Barcelona has a couple of giant sized galets on display, I must admit that the whole dish leaves me quite unmoved and we celebrated with a tradtional turkey roast. However I did produce a galet soup on boxing day, with the turkey carcass.