A plain, restoring broth of turnip tops or cabbage, potatoes and white beans, flavoured with a little cured pork.
What makes it caldo gallego
Greens — grelos, cabbage or berza.
Potatoes and white beans.
A little cured pork or unto, for flavour rather than bulk.
Where it comes from
Caldo just means broth, and in Galicia it's the everyday first course — once eaten at nearly every meal in country houses. The greens change with the season: turnip tops, grelos, in winter and spring, and cabbage or berza the rest of the year.
The flavour comes from unto, cured pork fat, and a bone or a piece of lacón simmered in the pot. It's thin rather than thick, and eaten very hot.