Cocido Aragonés con Cardo

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large heavy pot or olla, 7 to 8 litres
• •Skimming spoon
• •Small saucepan for noodles
• •Kitchen string, optional for tying the pelota

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the chickpeas

   The night before, cover the chickpeas with plenty of cold water and leave them to soak 12 hours. Drain them before cooking. Pésalo, no lo adivines: old chickpeas cook slowly and unevenly, so buy from a shop with good turnover.

   If your kitchen is warm, soak the chickpeas in the refrigerator. Sour soak water gives you a sour pot, and nobody asked for that.
2. 2

   Build the broth

   Put the beef, hen or chicken, pork belly, ham bone, marrow bone if using, leek, carrots, onion, and bay leaves in a large pot. Add 2.5 litres cold water and bring it up slowly. Skim the grey foam as it rises, then lower the heat and simmer gently for 1 hour before adding the chickpeas.

3. 3

   Add the garbanzos

   Add the drained chickpeas to the pot. Keep them covered by 3cm of liquid, adding hot water if needed, and hold the pot at a low tremble for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours, until the chickpeas are nearly tender. Do not hard-boil and do not stir hard. Shake the pot by the handles if anything catches.

4. 4

   Make the pelota

   Mix the minced pork, squeezed bread, egg, garlic, parsley, pimentón, and 1/2 teaspoon salt until it holds together. Shape into one large oval dumpling or two smaller ones, dust lightly with flour, and set aside. The bread keeps the pelota tender; pack it too hard and it eats heavy.

5. 5

   Cook cardo and potato

   If using fresh cardoon, peel away the strings, rub the cut pieces with lemon if you like, and simmer them in salted water for 20 minutes before adding them to the cocido. Add the par-cooked cardo and the potatoes to the pot, then lower in the pelota. Cook gently for 35 to 45 minutes, until the potatoes are tender, the pelota is cooked through, and the chickpeas are creamy inside. If using jarred cardo, add it for only the last 15 minutes.

6. 6

   Season and strain

   Taste the broth before salting; the ham may have done half the work already. Lift out the meats, vegetables, and pelota to a warm platter. Strain enough broth into a smaller pan for the noodles, keeping the chickpeas, cardo, and potatoes covered in the main pot.

7. 7

   Serve in vuelcos

   Bring the strained broth to a lively simmer, add the noodles, and cook until just tender, usually 4 to 6 minutes. Serve the noodle soup first. Then serve the chickpeas with cardo and potatoes, followed by sliced meats and thick slices of pelota. Tal como se hace allí, the pot gives you the whole meal.

Chef Tips

• •Fresh cardo is a winter vegetable and needs cleaning: pull the strings as you would from celery, then par-cook it before it goes into the cocido. Jarred cardo en conserva is a proper home shortcut; rinse it and add it late.
• •If you cannot find cardo, use the thick white stems of Swiss chard. They cook faster and taste milder, so add them for the last 20 minutes and know the stew loses a little of the bitter, artichoke-like edge that makes this Aragonese.
• •Do not salt early. The ham bone, cured ham end, and pork all give salt to the broth as they cook, and the chickpeas toughen if the pot is salty before they soften.
• •Serve it in vuelcos, in turns. First the noodle broth, then the chickpeas and vegetables, then the meats and pelota. Piling it all into one bowl is edible, yes, but it is not the same meal.
• •This is better the next day. Keep the broth, chickpeas, and meats together, but cook the noodles fresh or they swell and drink the soup.

Advance Preparation

• •Soak the chickpeas 12 hours ahead in plenty of cold water.
• •The whole cocido can be cooked one day ahead, cooled, and refrigerated. Reheat gently, then cook the noodles separately in strained broth just before serving.
• •The pelota mixture can be made up to 12 hours ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 850g)