Easy step-by-step recipe of cocido madrileño for a perfect result recipe
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Total: 3 h 15 min Diners: 6
Few dishes better represent the history of Spain than a good cocido. Here we had already learned how to make cocido montañés and even a cocido lasagna or these scrumptious cocido meatballs to take advantage of the leftovers of this delicious dish. But today we are going to cook step by step an authentic cocido madrileño, the one of a lifetime.
In my house we have eaten cocido madrileño practically every day in winter, and some in summer too. My mother always says that it was the food of the country people (and we were from the countryside) and that the magic of cocido lies in using quality ingredients and giving them all their precise point of cooking.
History of the cocido madrileño
The cocido madrileño is a millenary dish (yes, millenary) that had its origin in the large clay pots that were placed near the newly dominated fire. A dish, with its influences from here and there, that traveled with Hannibal and his elephants across the Iberian Peninsula to the Andes. A preparation that was influenced by the Romans and the Jews and perfected with the arrival of the Arabs.
It grew and increased the ingredients thanks to the Vegetable Recipes arriving from America. So much compilation of ingredients, stories and flavors made the stew one of the oldest and most famous elaborations that our gastronomy has; highlighting, above all, the cocido madrileño.
The cocido madrileño is an ancient dish
Well into the nineteenth century, although it was eaten throughout the country, in Madrid reached great popularity among the upper classes who enjoyed eating the soup with chickpeas full of flavor and left for service meats and Vegetable Recipes that, according to them, were parched.
These upper classes popularized the dish and there were many restaurants of the time, such as Casa Botín or the Lhardy that echoed this and began to serve it in three vuelcos: soup, chickpeas and Vegetable Recipes, and the meats.
Cocidos are as many as there are houses in Spain, each mother makes her own depending on the area where she is and the traditions she has lived, and the truth is that few dishes and recipes evoke such good memories and give off that nostalgic and homely air. A festive dish whose art lies in putting it on the fire first thing in the morning and forget about it until lunchtime.
I’m not going to hide it: cocido madrileño is an economically expensive dish and also laborious to prepare if you want to do it well; to the king what is the king’s. So if you do not want to complicate things and want to eat a great stew in Madrid I recommend that you go to the Cruz Blanca de Vallecas, the Nuevo Horno de Santa Teresa or the Charolés to enjoy one of my favorite stews. And if you don’t want to leave home, ask for the Abuela Maragata, which, although according to the Leonese tradition is eaten with the inverted turnovers, it is very similar to the Madrid one and is very tasty.
How to make cocido madrileño
Cocido madrileño with its three turnovers
Ingredients
. Chicken, 1/2 pc Beef morcillo, 400 g Iberian prey, 250 g Fresh bacon, 200 g Cured Iberian bacon, 150 g Piece of ham, 150 g Cane bone, 1 pc Pork backbone, 1 pc Ham bone, 1 pc Chickpeas, 500 g Potato, 2 pc Leek, 1 pc Carrot, 4 pc Turnip, 1 pc Cabbage, 1/4 Garlic cloves, 2 pc Iberian sausage from Extremadura, 1 pc Onion or rice blood sausage, 1 pc Extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons Sweet paprika, 2 teaspoons Salt, c/s Noodles, 1 handful per person
Step 1
12 hours before making the stew, soak the chickpeas in a basin with plenty of water. You can use a little salt or baking soda to soften them better. The chickpeas have to be of quality, I like pedrosillanos. After the time, drain the water and put in a cooking bag.
Step 2
Put all the meats, except for the blood sausage and the chorizo, to cook in a very large pot with plenty of water. When it starts to boil add the chickpeas and then the Vegetable Recipes. To leave the pot with the fire to full, so that it begins to boil strong and the ingredients release all their impurities. With the help of a ladle, remove the impurities. Then, lower the heat to the minimum and let it cook for a minimum of 4 hours.
Here is a particularity: we will have to take out the ingredients as we see them cooking. The Vegetable Recipes will be in 20-30 minutes approx. The chickpeas in 1h 30 min, the bacon in 1 h… and we will reserve it.
Step 3
The blood sausage, the chorizo and the cabbage, on the other hand, cook them in water for 15 minutes. Discard the water because it will have a lot of fat. Reserve.
Step 4
As the Vegetable Recipes are ready, remove them from the pot and reserve them for the end. The carrots and leeks will take the shortest time. Then the potatoes and, finally, the chickpeas. You have to control the boiling so that the meat does not overcook.
Step 5
When it is ready, finely chop two cloves of garlic and sauté in three tablespoons of oil. Add a tablespoon of paprika and the diced cabbage. Saute well with a little salt.
Step 6
Separate a good amount of broth, degrease and bring to a boil and add the noodles to taste.
Tricks for preparing stew
There are those who make balls to the stew, those who add ear, those who accompany it with chickpea salad, those who incorporate marrow, those who make a tomato and cumin paste to accompany the chickpeas… the possibilities are endless.
This is the recipe for “cocido exprés” all together but I also like to do it in several phases. I explain:
1) The day before I cook all the meats (without chorizo or blood sausage) over very low heat and leave to soak the chickpeas. With Vegetable Recipes.
2) When the meats are super tender I reserve them and let the broth cool completely. Those Vegetable Recipes I discard.
3) The next day I degrease the soup well and cook the chickpeas in it, when they are tender and have little left I add the Vegetable Recipes and cook just long enough for them to be tender.
4) Then I only heat the meats in part of the soup and the rest I save to make the soup with the noodles.
Madrilenian stew recipe video
To follow step by step the preparation of the cocido madrileño here we leave you our easy stew video recipe that will help you to solve any doubt that may remain.
