Chef Isabel
Caldo de Millo Canario
Caldo de Millo is the Canary Islands' clear corn-cob broth: piñas de millo, papas, calabaza, and cilantro simmered gently until the cobs sweeten the water and the bowl stays light.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Puchero Canario
Created by
Puchero Canario is the islands' generous cocido: chickpeas, meats, corn cob, sweet potato, pumpkin, cabbage, and potatoes, cooked in order so every vegetable keeps its name.
Soups & Stews
Spanish
Comfort Food
Special Occasion
One Pot
30 min
Active Time
2 hr 45 min cook•15 hr 15 min total
Yield6 to 8 servings
Puchero Canario belongs to the Canary Islands, and the islands mark it with things a Castilian cocido doesn't carry in the same way: piña de millo, the corn cob, batata, pumpkin, cabbage, chickpeas, and a full pot of meats giving their strength to the broth. It is comida de cuchara, spoon food, but also a two-part meal. First the broth, clear and deep. Then the meats, chickpeas, and vegetables on a platter, each one still itself.
The method that decides it is order. The meats and soaked chickpeas go first, because they need time. The hard vegetables follow, then the tender pumpkin, cabbage, and green beans near the end. Throw everything in together and the pot may still feed you, but the pumpkin collapses, the cabbage goes tired, and the broth turns cloudy. This dish wants abundance, not confusion.
If you're far from the islands, no hace falta haber pisado España. Use dried chickpeas, a corn cob, sweet potato, pumpkin or winter squash, cabbage, and honest stewing meats you can get: beef shin, pork ribs, chicken, and a piece of salt pork or bacon. A Spanish cooking chorizo is common in many home pots; if you leave it out, the broth is lighter and less red, not ruined. Pésalo, no lo adivines, then let the pot work. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Puchero Canario is the Canary Islands' version of the broad Iberian family of cocidos, shaped by an island larder where chickpeas, salted pork, corn, sweet potato, pumpkin, and cabbage met in the same pot. The corn cob, called piña de millo in the islands, is one of the signs that makes it Canarian rather than a mainland cocido. The broth is often served first, and what remains can be stretched into escaldón with gofio or turned the next day into ropa vieja, the practical second life of a generous pot.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
dried chickpeas
Quantity
350g
soaked overnight
beef shin or stewing beef
Quantity
500g
cut into large pieces
pork ribs
Quantity
350g
cut into large pieces
chicken thigh or hen
Quantity
250g
bone-in
salt pork, panceta, or thick bacon
Quantity
150g
in one piece
Spanish cooking chorizo (optional)
Quantity
1 (about 100g)
onion
Quantity
1 large
peeled, left whole
garlic
Quantity
3 cloves
peeled
bay leaf
Quantity
1
water
Quantity
2.5 litres, plus more as needed
corn cobs
Quantity
2
each cut into 3 pieces
potatoes
Quantity
300g
peeled and halved
sweet potato
Quantity
300g
peeled and cut into large chunks
pumpkin or winter squash
Quantity
250g
peeled and cut into large chunks
carrots
Quantity
200g
peeled and cut into thick pieces
green beans
Quantity
200g
trimmed
cabbage
Quantity
300g
cut into wedges
sweet pimentón
Quantity
1 teaspoon
saffron threads (optional)
Quantity
1 small pinch
olive oil
Quantity
2 tablespoons
salt
Quantity
to taste
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| dried chickpeassoaked overnight | 350g |
| beef shin or stewing beefcut into large pieces | 500g |
| pork ribscut into large pieces | 350g |
| chicken thigh or henbone-in | 250g |
| salt pork, panceta, or thick baconin one piece | 150g |
| Spanish cooking chorizo (optional) | 1 (about 100g) |
| onionpeeled, left whole | 1 large |
| garlicpeeled | 3 cloves |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| water | 2.5 litres, plus more as needed |
| corn cobseach cut into 3 pieces | 2 |
| potatoespeeled and halved | 300g |
| sweet potatopeeled and cut into large chunks | 300g |
| pumpkin or winter squashpeeled and cut into large chunks | 250g |
| carrotspeeled and cut into thick pieces | 200g |
| green beanstrimmed | 200g |
| cabbagecut into wedges | 300g |
| sweet pimentón | 1 teaspoon |
| saffron threads (optional) | 1 small pinch |
| olive oil | 2 tablespoons |
| salt | to taste |
Equipment Needed
- •Tall heavy pot or olla, at least 7 litres
- •Skimming spoon
- •Large platter for serving the meats and vegetables
Instructions
- 1
Soak the chickpeas
The night before, put the chickpeas in a large bowl and cover them with plenty of cold water. They swell more than you think, so give them room. This is not fussiness; soaked chickpeas cook evenly and keep their skins better.
- 2
Start the meats
Drain the chickpeas. Put the beef, pork ribs, chicken, salt pork, onion, garlic, bay leaf, and 2.5 litres water in a tall heavy pot. Bring it slowly to a simmer, skim the grey foam from the surface, then add the drained chickpeas. Keep the pot at a gentle tremble, not a hard boil, for 1 hour.
If your salt pork or bacon is very salty, soak it in cold water for 1 hour first. You can always add salt later; you can't take it back. - 3
Season the broth
Warm the olive oil in a small pan, take it off the heat, and stir in the pimentón so it blooms without burning. Add this to the pot with the saffron, if using, and the chorizo if you want that fuller, redder home-pot flavor. Simmer 30 minutes more, until the chickpeas are nearly tender.
- 4
Add firm vegetables
Add the corn cobs, potatoes, sweet potato, and carrots. Taste the broth and salt it carefully. Keep the simmer gentle for 25 minutes, adding a little hot water only if the ingredients are no longer covered. The pot should be generous, not drowned.
- 5
Finish tender vegetables
Add the pumpkin, green beans, and cabbage wedges. Cook 18 to 25 minutes more, until the pumpkin is tender but not falling apart, the cabbage is soft, and the chickpeas are creamy all the way through. This order is what keeps the puchero Canario clean and clear instead of mashed together.
- 6
Serve in two parts
Lift the meats and vegetables out carefully to a large platter, keeping the corn, chickpeas, potatoes, sweet potato, pumpkin, cabbage, and meats in visible groups. Strain the broth if you like it clear. Serve the broth first in bowls, then bring the platter to the table with chickpeas and a little broth spooned over. Tal como se hace allí.
Chef Tips
- •The corn cob matters. It gives sweetness to the broth and marks the dish as Canarian. Frozen corn on the cob is fine if fresh corn is poor where you are.
- •Pumpkin and sweet potato must go in large pieces. Cut them small and they'll dissolve before the cabbage is ready, and then you've made a thick soup instead of puchero.
- •If you can't find Spanish cooking chorizo, leave it out or use a mild cured Spanish chorizo in a smaller amount. Don't use a smoky barbecue sausage; it drags the pot somewhere else.
- •The leftovers are a gift. Shred the meats with chickpeas and a little potato the next day for ropa vieja, fried gently with onion and garlic until the edges catch.
- •A bowl of broth can be thickened with gofio, the toasted Canarian flour, for escaldón. Add the broth to the gofio little by little and stir hard, or it clumps. Nadie nace sabiendo.
Advance Preparation
- •Soak the chickpeas 12 to 16 hours ahead in plenty of cold water.
- •The full puchero can be cooked a day ahead, but reheat it gently and lift out the pumpkin and cabbage if they are already very soft.
- •The broth can be strained and chilled separately overnight; remove the set fat from the top if you want a cleaner first course.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 750g)
Calories
820 calories
Total Fat
43 g
Saturated Fat
14 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
29 g
Cholesterol
125 mg
Sodium
1450 mg
Total Carbohydrates
66 g
Dietary Fiber
16 g
Sugars
14 g
Protein
44 g
Where cooking meets culture.
Culinary guides, cultural storytelling, and the editorial depth that makes cooking meaningful.
Discover Culinary ExplorerMore from Cocina de Cuchara Canaria
Browse the full collection
Chef Isabel
Caldo de Papas Canario
Caldo de Papas Canario is the Canary Islands' plain potato broth with garlic, onion, tomato, green pepper, plenty of cilantro, and an egg poached right at the end.
Chef Isabel
Caldo de Pescado Canario
Caldo de Pescado Canario is the Canary Islands' clean fish broth: fresh white fish, papas, a small sofrito, saffron, and the old island habit of finishing the bowl with mojo verde and gofio.
Chef Isabel
Garbanzas Compuestas Canarias
Garbanzas compuestas are Canary Islands spoon food: large chickpeas, a dark tomato and pimentón sofrito, potatoes, and a little pork cooked until the broth clings to every spoonful.