Cocido Madrileño

La storia di questo piatto

Cocido Madrileño is the heartbeat of Castile made edible — a dish born from the cold plateau winds and the warm kitchens of working Madrid, where grandmothers turned humble ingredients into liturgy. It carries centuries of Sephardic and Christian tradition in its golden broth, a living archive of a city that has always known how to survive and celebrate in the same breath.

Ingredienti

• 400 g Dried chickpeas
• 600 g Beef brisket
• 200 g Pancetta or guanciale
• 800 g Whole chicken or chicken pieces
• 200 g Spanish chorizo sausage
• 2 pieces Onion
• 3 pieces Carrot
• 2 stalks Celery
• 600 g Potato
• 300 g Green cabbage
• 2.5 liters Beef broth or water
• quanto basta Salt
• quanto basta Black pepper

Preparazione

1. The evening before, place the chickpeas in a bowl and cover them generously with cold water: they need to soak for at least 12 hours so they soften and swell properly. The next day, drain them thoroughly, rinse them under running water, and bring them to a boil in a pot with fresh water for 20 minutes: you'll notice a thin layer of foam forming on the surface, which is completely normal—use a spoon to skim away any impurities. Then drain them again and set them aside, ready to use.
2. Take your largest pot, the one you use for long-simmering dishes, and pour in the cold broth: starting from cold is the secret to achieving a clear and flavorful broth. Add the beef, the pancetta cut into small cubes, the whole chicken, and the chickpeas that have already been parboiled, then bring everything to a boil very gradually, without rushing the process.
3. Tie together the onion, carrot, and celery with a piece of kitchen twine, so that at the end of cooking you can find them easily and they won't fall apart into the broth. Lower the heat to the minimum and let it simmer gently for 90 minutes: occasionally pass a skimming spoon over the surface to remove the gray foam that rises up—this is what clouds the broth and must be removed patiently and carefully.
4. Now comes the moment for the whole sausage, the potatoes cut into pieces that aren't too small, and the cabbage: submerge them in the hot broth and let them cook together for another 45 minutes. You'll notice the aroma becoming fuller and more rounded, a sign that all the flavors are truly coming together.
5. Take a spoon, taste the broth thoughtfully and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper: only by tasting can you understand what's missing, don't rely on your eyes alone. The cocido is ready when a fork slides into the meat without any resistance and the chickpeas crush softly between your fingers, almost without effort.
6. This is where true tradition takes center stage: pour the hot broth first into bowls as a soup, perhaps with a thin thread of cooked pasta or rice inside, and serve it on its own. Then arrange the well-drained vegetables on a separate plate, and finally slice the meats unhurriedly, arranging them neatly and beautifully on the final serving plate: three courses, three different pleasures from the same pot.