Olla podrida is a popular dish in Spain and Galicia. It dates back to the Middle Ages, when it was called olla poderida, where poderida meant "powerful" ("olla" refers to stew or to the stew pot), referring to the powerful ingredients that it included, or because only the rich powerful could get near this dish.
Following certain rules of the language, the "e" disappeared and left the word "podrida," a word meaning "rotten," which leads to much confusion.
After the French arrived, they fell in love with the recipe for olla podrida and imported it into their country, translating the words exactly without investigating further. They call this dish potpourri. Like olla podrida, it contains a wide variety of ingredients, and the word took on in French the metaphorical sense of a mixture of diverse things.
In the 19th century it also acquired (also in France) the meaning of a musical composition formed from fragments or themes from diverse works. And it was precisely with this musical meaning that France returned to Spain a French-style olla podrida, with the word "potpourri." It is said that "the orchestra interpreted a potpourri of..." because it sounds better than saying "interpreted an olla podrida (rotten stew) of..." Such is the most frequent use of "potpourri," that however can be used to allude to any mixture of diverse things.
En el Quijote, Cervantes pone en boca del tragaldabas Sancho estas palabras:
- «... aquel platonazo que está más adelante vahando me parece que es olla podrida, que por la diversidad de cosas que en tales ollas podridas hay, no podré dejar de topar con alguna que me sea de gusto y provecho...».
Es el plato más representativo de la cocina burgalesa. En especial de Burgos capital y los pueblos de su alrededor. Como es lógico, se consume preferentemente en los meses de invierno o con mal tiempo. Se puede considerar como de la familia de los cocidos.
Su ingrediente principal es la alubia (judía) roja, siendo especialmente apreciada si se elabora con la exquisita alubia roja de Ibeas (zona Ibeas de Juarros - Burgos -). Las alubias se hacían tradicionalmente en olla de barro durante varias horas (de ahí su nombre) hasta que quedaban blandas. To the stew one adds the following "powerful" ingredients: bacon, morcilla from Burgos, chorizo, and the ribs, ears, and snout of smoked pig. The dish sometimes includes la bola o relleno (similar al cocido), realizado con huevo. Se come como plato único, aunque se sirven primero las alubias y por separado las carnes.