Cocido madrileño — Madrid’s traditional stew with chickpeas, meats and vegetables

Known as Madrid’s signature dish, cocido madrileño is a rich stew of chickpeas, various meats and vegetables, prepared slowly over several hours, as described in Spanish cookery encyclopedias and on its Wikipedia page. Old Madrid tradition serves it in three “vuelcos” (stages): first the soup with thin noodles, then the chickpeas with the vegetables, and finally the sliced meats.

Ingredients (6–8 servings):

• 400 g dried chickpeas
• 300 g beef for stewing
• 200 g pork (leg or a cut for soup)
• 1 whole chicken (or half of one)
• 2 Spanish chorizo sausages
• 2 morcilla (blood) sausages
• 1 piece of serrano ham (about 100 g)
• 1 marrow bone
• 4 medium potatoes
• 3 carrots
• 1 small green cabbage
• 1 onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 100 g thin noodles (fideos)
• Salt to taste, olive oil

Preparation steps:

1. The night before, leave the chickpeas to soak in cold water with a pinch of salt.
2. In a large pot, add the meats, the marrow bone, the chicken, the onion and the garlic; cover with cold water, bring to the boil and skim off the foam that forms on the surface.
3. Drain the chickpeas and add them to the pot; simmer over a low heat for about 2½ to 3 hours, until the chickpeas are completely tender.
4. Add the potatoes, carrots and cabbage; continue cooking for another 30–40 minutes.
5. In the last 30 minutes, add the chorizo and the morcilla, so that they do not fall apart during cooking.
6. Strain the cooking broth; boil the thin noodles in it for 3–4 minutes — this soup is served as the first stage.
7. Serve by tradition in three stages: first the soup with noodles, then the chickpeas with the vegetables, and finally the sliced meats.

Preparation time: 20 minutes (+ soaking the chickpeas overnight)
Cooking time: about 3 hours
Servings: 6–8