Cocido Madrileño (Madrid-Style Chickpea Stew)

La storia di questo piatto

Cocido Madrileño is the winter table of Madrid and Castile, three courses of tradition carried by a single golden broth. Chickpeas, beef, bacon, chicken and chorizo gather in one pot, humble and generous at once, the way family food is meant to be.

Ingredienti

• 300 g Dried chickpeas
• 500 g Beef (chuck tip)
• 300 g Beef bones (with marrow)
• 150 g Tocino (cured salt pork, not guanciale)
• 600 g Chicken (whole thighs)
• 150 g Spanish sausage (chorizo)
• 150 g Morcilla (Spanish blood sausage, optional)
• 2 pieces Onion
• 3 pieces Carrot
• 2 stalks Celery
• 400 g Potato
• 250 g Green cabbage
• 100 g Fideos (fine pasta for broth)
• 3 liters Cold water (or unsalted meat stock)
• 10 g Salt
• 2 g Black pepper
• 2 pieces Bay leaves (for the aromatic bundle)
• 1 bunch Parsley (stems, for the aromatic bundle)

Preparazione

1. The evening before, place the chickpeas in a bowl, cover them well with cold water and let them soak for at least 12 hours. The next day drain and rinse them: they should not be pre-boiled, as they will cook directly in the broth with the meats. Place them in a mesh bag or a cotton kitchen sack so you can easily retrieve them at the end. Also prepare the aromatic bundle: tie the bay leaves and parsley stems together with kitchen twine.
2. Take the large pot and add the beef, the bones and the salt pork cut into large chunks (if very salty, rinse it first under cold water). Cover with 3 liters of cold water (or unsalted meat stock): starting from cold helps extract flavor from the meat and bones. Bring to a boil very slowly, without rushing.
3. When it reaches a boil, lower the heat to minimum and skim the grey foam that rises to the surface with a slotted spoon. Add the mesh bag with the chickpeas, the onion and carrot cut into large pieces, the whole celery and the aromatic bundle (tied with kitchen twine so you can find them easily). Let it simmer gently for 90 minutes, never boiling hard.
4. Add the whole chicken thighs and the whole chorizo. Continue the gentle simmer for another 60 minutes: the beef chuck tip will thus reach about 2 and a half hours of cooking, tender, while the chicken (added later) stays soft and arrives whole at the table. Check the salt only now, tasting calmly, and add the pepper.
5. While the broth simmers, cook the vegetables separately so as not to cloud it. About 40 minutes before the end, peel the potatoes, cut them into not-too-small pieces and cook them in a small pot with a ladle of broth and hot water for 25–30 minutes. In a separate pot boil the cabbage in salted water for 25–30 minutes, then drain it well. If you want the morcilla, cook it separately in barely simmering water for 15 minutes and keep it warm. At the end check that a fork slides into the beef without resistance and that the chickpeas mash softly between your fingers; if the beef is still fibrous, remove the chicken and chorizo first, keep them warm and extend the beef's cooking by 20–30 minutes.
6. Remove the aromatic bundle, the bones and the vegetables from the broth. Ladle out the clear broth and bring it to a boil in a small pot: cook the fideos for 5 minutes and serve them as the first course, the sopa, in warm bowls. Then arrange the well-drained chickpeas, potatoes and cabbage on a separate platter. Finally slice the beef and the tocino, place the chicken thighs, the chorizo in rounds and the morcilla (if used) on the final platter: three courses, three different pleasures from the same pot.