Escudella I Carn d’Olla - Catalonian Shell Pasta & Meatball Soup

This famous soup is Catalonia’s main Christmas dish, dating back over 600 years. If you're in Barcelona on December 25th, odds are you'll be enjoying a bowl! This hearty soup features a large meatball, known as the 'pilota,' vegetables and other kinds of meat like chicken, butifarra, morcilla and beef. Pretty much everyone in Barcelona eats this satisfying soup on Christmas day. The soup is known to have been around for a very long time; the 14th-century medieval Catalan writer Francesc Eiximenis wrote that Catalans ate it on a daily basis. The galets pasta can also be stuffed with a meatball mixture to make stuffed shells, or served with a light cream sauce and sautéed vegetables. This soup is also known as Escudella de Nadal or Sopa de Galets.