Butelo with cascas

On Carnival day, in the cold region of Trás-os-Montes, but also on so many other tables where tradition is a must, the dish of the day is “Butelo” with “Cascas “, also known as Cozido Mirandês (stew). Butelo (a pork meat sausage) is the king of the dish, accompanied by “cascas “- also known as “vasas” or “casulas”. These are beans harvested still in the pod when the grain is well-formed but not yet dry. The pod is broken into pieces and dried in the sun for several days. Like so many other typical dishes, it results from scarce resources, which formerly obliged people to make the most of every edible good, like the cascas or the pig’s spine.