The Cocido Madrileno soup is probably the most famous Spanish dish in Madrid. Although we are sure you will love this meal, we recommend you not having a date after eating it, because it´s very heavy and you may regret it. Next you will find how to make the best cocido Madrileno recipe with its ingredients and the best tips:
How to make cocido Madrileno
It may take you some time, but in the cold days you will appreciate learning how to make cocido, as it´s a delicious and warm dish:
Spanish cocido ingredients:
Serves 6:
- 2 cups chickpeas (300g)
- 10 oz. (400g) veal
- 10 oz. (400g) chicken
- 5 oz (200g) bacon pieces
- 2 veal bones
- 3 ham bones
- 3 or 4 pieces of chorizo
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 onion
- 2 carrots
- 2 potatoes
- Salt and olive oil
- Morcilla (blood sausage), savoy cabbage and noodles are optional
Recipe for cocido Madrileno soup
- Soak in cold water all the garbanzo beans (chickpeas) the night before or keep it for 12 hours.
- In a large bowl, place the oil and salt and then add the chickpeas, veal, bacon, bones, garlic and onion. (cook it all together)
- Remove the foam (when it starts boiling)
- After one hour, add the soft food, which are the chorizo, carrots, potatoes and chicken. Keep it for another 1 hours.
- If you want noodles (optional), separate the soup, boil it and add noodles on it.
- Your cocido Madrileno recipe is done! Enjoy it!
More information about the Spanish cocido
You have done the hard part, now i´s time to learn a little bit about the famous cocido Madrileno:
What is cocido?
The most famous Spanish stew is known as cocido Madrileno, which means is originally from the capital of Spain, Madrid. This Spanish main course is made for wintertime as it will keep you warm when the temperatures are low. Although we will talk later about the different ways to eat this famous dish from Madrid, we can already tell you that it has a lot of variations and all of them include a great quantity of ingredients.
It´s important to distinguish it from the Mexican cocido recipe, as its totally different from the Spanish one.
How to eat cocido Madrileno?
This is a very important question, as everyone in Spain eats cocido in a different way.
- Some people like to have the soup together with the garbanzo beans, which makes it basically a chickpeas soup. They would eat the meat, chorizo and the rest later, as a second dish.
- Others prefer to make noodles and have the soup with noodles, after that they would have one or two dishes more. One option is to have the garbanzo beans with the meat, or you can also have it separated in two dishes.
- Last of all, it can be a little bit to messy, but many people eat it all together (without noodles). The soup with the chickpeas and the meat in the same plate.
Where to eat Cocido in Madrid!
First of all what you should know is that if you want to try a delicious Spanish Cocido, then you have to eat it in Madrid. Although, you may be able to find it somewhere else in Spain, the good ones are the ones in Madrid.
If you don´t have the time to make it at home, there are some places where they make some incredible cocidos. A really good restaurant to eat cocido in Madrid is La Bola
History of cocido Madrileno
Although the origins of cocido are not clear, we know the cocido was really popular during the middle ages because of the cheap prices of the chickpeas. It is said that the Sephardic Jews, who lived during the years of the catholic kings, were the ones who served this meal and made it popular all over the country.
At the beginning there was no meat at the cocido. In the 15th century, during the years of the inquisition, the Spaniards wanted to distinguish from the Jews and that´s why they added the meat.
Enjoy the Spanish cocido recipe!
That´s all you need to know about the heavy but delicious Spanish stew, hope you have learned how to make the best cocido Madrileno recipe, and you enjoy it! If you have any question or suggestion, please let us know in the comments!