The traditional recipe for cocido madrilena
Cocido is a Spanish dish that originated in Madrid and is famous throughout Spain. Madrid is famous for its recipe, and many tourists come to Madrid to enjoy a good cocido in one of the city’s best establishments.
The ingredients of cocido madrileño
Before we present the ingredients of cocido madrilène, it’s important to know how it’s structured.
Composed of three courses, you’ll first taste a vermicelli soup made in a broth. Once the soup is finished comes chickpeas with vegetables, cabbage, carrots and turnip. Complementing these first two dishes is a meat dish of sausage, chorizo, blood pudding, cooked ham, chicken, bacon and meat.
To make a good cocido, here are the ingredients of the traditional recipe (for 4 people):
For the soup :
- vermicelli
For the vegetables :
- 1 kg cabbage
- 4 medium-sized potatoes
- 2 carrots
- 1 onion
- 1 turnip
- 1 garlic clove
For meat
- 250 g chickpeas (soak in water for 24 hours before cooking)
- 300 g beef (scoter)
- Quarter of a free-range chicken
- 100 g bacon
- 100 g blood sausage (with or without onion)
- 100 g chorizo
- 50 g dried ham
- 4 marrow bones
You’ll find many variations of cocido, and each restaurant will have its own recipe, so you can adapt it to your tastes and change the recipe to find the perfect recipe for your taste.
How do you make a cocido?
Preparing cocido is a lengthy process, and there are a number of steps to follow in order to make the best possible dish:
Step 1 : Soak the chickpeas in water at room temperature for 24 hours.
Step 2 : Place the meat in a wide-bottomed pot, then cover with 4 liters of water. Bring to the boil and remove any scum from the surface. Once this operation is complete, add the chickpeas to the boiling water, restart the heat and at the next boil add the vegetables, except for the potatoes. Leave to cook for almost three hours, until the chickpeas are tender.
Step 3 : Once the chickpeas are cooked, add the peeled and sliced potatoes. Cook for 20 min, tasting regularly to check the taste and add salt and pepper if necessary.
Step 4 : If you wish to add cabbage, then cook the chopped cabbage in another pan for 30 min.
Step 5 : Cook the chorizo and blood sausage separately.
Step 6 : Once the various dishes are finished, use the broth from the meat and vegetables to cook the vermicelli. This takes less than 5 min to cook, and you can start serving the soup before the meat and vegetables.
Where to eat a good cocido in Madrid
Eating a good cocido is one of the things to do during your stay in Madrid, here are the top 3 best restaurants in the city :
1 – La bola
2 – Los arcos de ponzano
3 – La gran tasca