Easy Spanish Pork Stew – Olla Gitana Recipe

Only a few dishes can include all the foods of a region and combine them successfully. Without a doubt, the Spanish pork stew is one of them.

Also known as Gipsy stew or Olla Gitana, this is a Spanish meat dish that represents the south of Spain throughout the world. 

At first glance, it seems to be a crazy dish, but I promise you that when you try it it will become your favorite recipe.

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If you want to learn how to make the pork stew recipe, some tips, and read about its history and its role in Spanish culture, then you are in the right place. 

Here we will tell you all that and much more so that you know everything there is to know about this recipe.

Pssst…!!?? You can’t get enough of Spanish soup recipes? Have a look at my other posts: 

• Cocido Madrileno
• Spanish lentil soup with chorizo
• Spanish ham and bean soup

Background of the Dish

The Spanish pork stew originated in the eastern part of Andalusia and is probably one of the oldest in all of Spain. 

Of course, the recipe changed over time, but it always included legumes, some kind of meat, vegetables, and all kinds of herbs. 

No one knows for sure if the name comes from a collection of gypsy recipes or if it simply refers to the gypsies’ habit of cooking with whatever ingredients they had on hand.

In any case, what is certain is that this recipe has already won the hearts of all Spaniards, and each family has its own version incorporating and removing different ingredients, making it unique.

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Things You’ll Need for Spanish Pork Stew

To make this Spanish pork stew you will only need a large pot and a saucepan for the equipment. 

There are a lot of ingredients, but as you will see later you can make as many substitutions as you like.

You can also try other similar Andalusian recipes such as the Spanish oxtail stew, the Spanish chicken stew, and the Spanish seafood stew.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (200 g) cooked white beans
• 1 1/4 cups (200 g) cooked chickpeas
• 1/2 cup (150 g) Pumpkin
• 4 cups (900 ml)  chicken broth (or water)
• 450g of pork, cut into small pieces
• 200g ground sausage 
• 200g pork bones 
• 2 medium yellow onions, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Carrot
• 1 cup (200 g) flat green beans
• 2 pear
• 2 pear tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 5 threads of saffron
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons bread crumbs
• 2 mint leaves
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 15 whole almonds, ground and toasted
• extra virgin olive oil
• Salt

How to Make Spanish Pork Stew – Step by Step Guide

1. To start this Spanish stew recipe you must fry pork on all sides until brown and set them aside. Fry the pork bones and sausage and set them aside as well. 

2. For the next step saute the finely chopped onion with a pinch of salt over low heat. Once it is tender, add the grated tomatoes without the skin, or peeled and chopped. Sauté well until the tomato water is reduced; Add the garlic and paprika but stir quickly so it doesn’t burn.

3. Return the pork and bones to the pot and cover with water and bring everything to a boil. Once it started boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour. 

4. After that, prepare the vegetables by washing and drying them well. Cut the green beans into pieces of about 4 cm, the diced pumpkin, and the previously peeled carrots into pieces that are not too small. Add everything to the pot and cook over low heat. 

5. Mix carefully and add the saffron and a mint leaf. Also, add the pears and the bread crumbs and correct the liquid level if necessary. Season with wine and salt, cover, and cook the whole for another 15-20 minutes.

6. If it is very soupy, bring it to a boil for about five minutes over high heat, uncovered, removing the mint first. Let stand for a few minutes, and as an optional step, you can serve this Spanish pork stew with a few leaves of fresh mint.

Substitution of Ingredients

It is probable that when you see all the ingredients listed for the making of Spanish stew, you get a little bit overwhelmed, but don’t worry, there are hundreds of replacements that you can make.

For this Spanish pork stew, you can use any meat of your choice but you can use chicken, beef, etc. 

Of course, it wouldn’t be a pork stew, but the taste will still be amazing.

You might be familiar with other chickpea stew recipes that only call for one type of legumes, but for this Spanish pork stew, you can use any type of your choice. 

Tips on Serving Spanish Pork Stew

This Spanish pork stew can be eaten at any time of the day, but people usually serve it at lunch, because the pork stew meat is a little bit too heavy to have for dinner.

You can take inspiration from other pork stew recipes, and serve it with some shredded parmesan cheese on top, or even alongside some bread toasted with garlic and olive oil.

If you’re a stew lover we recommend you to try our Spanish lentils recipe as well and have a hearty and delicious Spanish stew with chorizo and lentils.

The Fabada Asturiana stew, the Spanish vegetable stew, and the Spanish lamb stew are worth trying as well, especially once the cold season starts.

And for an easier stew recipe, try the Spanish chorizo stew with potatoes – an absolute Spanish culinary delicacy.

How to Store Spanish Pork Stew

As well as other hearty stew recipes, this Spanish bean stew is meant to be eaten the same day that you make it because it has a fresh flavor that you won’t get if you wait too long.

However, you can store it in the fridge for up to 3 days and it will still taste pretty great. 

Just make sure to store the Spanish pork stew in a covered container so it doesn’t get contaminated with the other smells of the fridge.

Recipe Card: Spanish Pork Stew

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