Cocido Madrileño

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •8 to 10 litre heavy olla or stockpot
• •Skimming spoon
• •Mesh garbanzo bag or square of muslin
• •Fine sieve
• •Wide frying pan for the cabbage
• •Large platter for the garbanzos and vegetables

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the garbanzos

   The night before, put the garbanzos in a large bowl with 2.5 litres warm water and the 10g salt. Soak 12 hours, then drain and rinse. If your jamón bone or tocino is very salty, soak it separately in cold water for 1 hour and drain it before it goes in the pot; Madrid cocido should taste deep, not harsh.

2. 2

   Build the broth

   Put the beef shin, hen, jamón bone, tocino, and marrow bones in an 8 to 10 litre heavy pot with 4.5 litres cold water. Bring it up slowly over medium heat, uncovered, and skim the grey foam as it rises. Do not rush this first half hour; the clear broth you want later is made now.

   Keep a bowl beside the stove for the foam and fat. Skimming is dull work, yes. It is also why the fideo soup tastes clean.
3. 3

   Add the chickpeas

   When the pot is at a gentle boil and mostly skimmed, add the drained chickpeas, ideally tied in a mesh bag so they lift out cleanly. Bring back to a simmer, then lower the heat until the surface only trembles. From here, any extra water must be hot; cold water shocks chickpeas and they can stay stubborn in the middle.

4. 4

   Simmer low

   Cook the chickpeas at that bare simmer until nearly tender, usually 2 to 2 1/2 hours from the moment they go in. Add the carrots after 90 minutes. Add the potatoes and chorizo for the last 35 to 40 minutes. Salt only when the chickpeas are tender, because the jamón and tocino have already been salting the pot while you weren't looking.

5. 5

   Cook the cabbage

   While the pot simmers, boil the cabbage wedges in salted water until tender but not slumped, 12 to 15 minutes. Drain well. Warm the olive oil in a wide frying pan, cook the sliced garlic until pale gold, then take the pan off the heat and stir in the pimentón for a few seconds. Toss in the cabbage and coat it in the garlic oil. Pimentón burns fast, so off the heat means off the heat.

6. 6

   Poach the morcilla

   Put the morcilla in a small pan, cover it with water or a ladleful of broth, and hold it just below a boil for 12 to 15 minutes. Keep it whole until serving. If morcilla bursts in the main pot, it darkens the broth and takes over, and this is cocido, not a punishment.

7. 7

   Make fideo soup

   When the chickpeas are creamy and the beef yields to a fork, lift out the chickpeas, vegetables, and meats and keep them covered. Strain the broth through a fine sieve into a saucepan and skim off as much fat as you like. Measure 1.5 litres broth for the soup, adding hot water if you are short, bring it to a lively boil, and cook the fideos for 4 to 5 minutes until tender. Taste for salt at the end.

8. 8

   Serve three vuelcos

   Serve the first vuelco as the fideo soup in deep bowls. For the second, put the garbanzos on a platter with the cabbage, carrots, and potatoes. For the third, slice the beef, hen, tocino, chorizo, and morcilla thickly, and set out the marrow bones for anyone with bread and good sense. That order is not decoration; it is the dish.

Chef Tips

• •Buy chickpeas from a shop with good turnover. Garbanzo castellano or Fuentesaúco gives the fat, creamy bite Madrid wants; large kabuli chickpeas work if they are fresh. Old chickpeas stay gritty no matter how politely you simmer them.
• •Spanish cooking chorizo is firm, cured, and seasoned with pimentón. Fresh Mexican chorizo is not a substitute here; it will leak spice and fat through the pot and make another dish.
• •If you cannot find a jamón bone, use a prosciutto end or an unsmoked ham hock. A smoked hock works only if you use half, because smoke is louder than Madrid asks for.
• •Hard water makes chickpeas stubborn. If your tap water leaves a white crust in the kettle, soak and cook the garbanzos in filtered or bottled water. It is a small thing that changes the pot.
• •Canned chickpeas can rescue a cornered cook, but they do not make the same cocido. Cook the meats and broth first, then warm 900g drained canned chickpeas in the strained broth for 15 minutes. It saves time and loses body. Fair trade, if you know the trade.
• •Pésalo, no lo adivines: 100g fideos is enough for the first vuelco. Too many noodles drink the broth and turn the soup thick before it reaches the table.

Advance Preparation

• •Soak the garbanzos 12 hours ahead in warm salted water; drain and rinse before cooking.
• •If the jamón bone or tocino is very salty, soak it separately for 1 hour in cold water and drain it before adding to the pot.
• •The broth, chickpeas, and meats can be cooked one day ahead. Chill them separately, lift off any firm fat, reheat gently, and cook the fideos fresh just before serving.
• •The cabbage can be boiled ahead, but sauté it with the garlic and pimentón close to serving so it tastes alive.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 820g)