Cocido from Madrid or simply cocido – is probably one of Spain’s national dishes. Cocido is chickpeas and meat stew, that simmers for hours, hardly bubbling. Comfort food for winter and cold days, that is served year long.
The main ingredient of cocido is chickpea or garbanzo. Vegetables are added: potatoes mainly, but also cabbage, carrots, and in some cases, green beans or green-leaved veggies are also added.
The meat used is fundamentally pork: pork belly, usually fresh, but sometimes cured; fresh (unsmoked) chorizo; onion morcilla, and dried and cured jamón serrano.
Beef shank is also added; the fat content of the piece is highly prized. Chicken (especially old hens) is also part of the cocido. Two bone pieces (ham bone and beef spine bone) are added to enrich the stock.
Ingredients
- 2 cups chickpeas 2 8 oz. cans of chickpeas
- 5 oz. chunk of Serrano ham
- 1 5 ” ham bone
- 1 3 ” chunk of veal bone marrow
- 5 oz. 2-inch thick bacon chunks
- 1 large 10-inch chorizo cut into 4 inch pieces You can buy several types of chorizo’s and use them all together
- Morcilla blood sausage (optional)
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 large carrots
- 2 potatoes
- Water enough to cover the ingredients and two inches over
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Paprika to taste
Instructions
- Allow garbanzo beans to sit in water overnight; drain excess water and set aside.
- Peel the garlic, onion, carrots and potatoes and set aside. Cook bones, chorizo and ham in a large pot in just enough water to cover. Add salt to taste.
- When the water begins to boil, remove the excess foam. After 45 minutes, add the chickpeas, garlic, onion and carrots, whole. Cover pot and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. When you are about 20 minutes until the end of your cooking time, add the potatoes.
- I serve it at home as just one course. As a good Dominican, serve it with white rice and avocado pieces.
Cocido is usually eaten in two or three courses. Once the chickpeas, meats, and vegetables have been cooked, the broth is separated and is used to make soup.
The steaming broth is served as the first course, and then the rest of the flavorful ingredients are served as the main dish, often in two rounds with the chickpeas and veggies coming first followed by the stewed-to-perfection meat.
7 thoughts on “Cocido from Madrid”
This looks perfect for the rainy day we are having today – warm and wonderful!
I was also raining here! just perfect
Wow!! such a lovely dish. It looks yum 🙂
Thank you! it was ???
This sounds amazing, Gaila! I’ve never heard of cocido, but it looks like the ultimate cold-weather comfort food. I can just imagine curling up on the couch with a good bowl of this one. 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing. It looks delicious!!
Me salió casi tan bueno como los que come uno en Madrid ….un platillo perfecto para el clima de Escocía !!
Hola Leila!!!
Cuánto me alegra saber que te quedó tan bueno como los de Madrid!! Un abrazo (virtual)