Berza - comfort food for the winter months
Acelgas (chard): a versatile winter vegetable. Use the leaves like spinach and the stems like celery. If you look up berza in a dictionary it says cabbage, kale or collard greens, but around here it is the name of a hearty winter stew, justifiably popular at this time of year. It is nourishing and tasty, and very economical to make, being based on chickpeas ( garbanzos ) and dried white beans ( alubias blancas ) for bulk, plus seasonal vegetables and cheap but tasty meat products like spiced sausage ( chorizo ) and blood pudding ( morcilla ). The locals will often include plants harvested from the countryside, such as the various kinds of edible thistle ( tagarninas and cardos ). You can buy these at the village shops or from street vendors when they are in season. The authentic version includes various bones and other items you can get cheap from the butcher, which all help to flavour the stock and add protein, but I just stick to things I recognise and chuck in a s...