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Glite Dictionary
olla podrida

olla podrida

9.9
A rich Spanish stew that has mixed meats, sausages, and beans
  • noun
  • /ˈɔjə pəˈdriːdə/
translation icon : olla podrida
  • Many Spanish cookbooks include a recipe for olla podrida as a classic dish.

Examples

  • I tasted olla podrida on my trip to Spain and loved its hearty flavors.

  • I made a delicious olla podrida for dinner.

  • The chef prepared a traditional olla podrida with pork, chorizo, and beans for the guests.

  • Have you ever tried olla podrida?

  • For dinner, we enjoyed a hearty olla podrida filled with various meats and vegetables.

  • The chef served a traditional olla podrida that delighted everyone at the table.

  • During the festival, locals prepared a large pot of olla podrida for the community to share.

Synonyms

olio
vsolla podrida
  • Archaic
1 9.4

A thick stew of meat and vegetables cooked together

is a Spanish stew often including sausages and extra spices
gulyas
vsolla podrida
9.6

A rich, thick Hungarian meat stew flavored with paprika and other spices

is similar but refers to a Spanish stew with mixed meats and sausages
burgoo
vsolla podrida
  • US
9.9

A thick stew with meat and vegetables

is a richer Spanish casserole that typically mixes many meats and spices
zarzuela
vsolla podrida
9.9

A Spanish seafood stew that has fish and shellfish cooked in a rich sauce

is a meat and sausage based Spanish stew rather than seafood

How Rich

casserole
54 2.8
olla podrida
9.9
stew
110 1.0
soup
733 1.0
broth
76 1.0

Surface Forms

olla podrida singular
olla podridas plural

Morphology

olla + podrida

Although the constituents literally suggest 'pot' (olla) + something like 'rotten' (podrida), that literal reading ('rotten pot') does not convey the sense of a rich mixed stew. This is a Spanish culinary term borrowed into English with an idiomatic meaning that cannot be predicted from the parts, so a B1 learner who only knows the component words would not infer the MWE's actual meaning.

Etymology

Olla podrida may come from the Spanish words olla meaning 'pot' and podrida meaning 'rotten'. One popular story says cooks used this name because many different meats, beans, and spices were cooked together until the pot looked dark and messy. So the 'rotten pot' image helps remember that olla podrida means a rich, mixed Spanish stew.