Madrilenian Cocido

The Madrilenian cocido is a traditional dish of Spanish cuisine, full of flavor and tradition, enjoyed in several phases, each with its own charm. This ancestral recipe, filled with delicious meats and tender legumes, promises to be a feast for the senses.

Ingredients

To prepare this iconic dish, you’ll need 6 generous servings that are prepared over multiple stages during almost seven hours. Among the highlighted ingredients, pig’s foot and chickpeas are essential: the pig’s foot adds an intense flavor and juicy texture to the dish, while the chickpeas provide a necessary legume base for its consistency. Don’t forget the cloves of garlic, which give it a special touch.

Step-by-Step

1. Initial Preparation: Start by desalting the pig’s foot and soaking the chickpeas in boiling water for their subsequent cooking.
2. Bridging and Preparing Vegetables: Bridge the leg bones to retain the marrow, cut the peeled turnip in half, poke cloves into an onion, and heat olive oil.
3. Sealing the Meats: Seal all meats (pork, beef, and chicken), the bones, and ham tips in a hot pan.
4. Preparing the Legume Bag: Drain the soaked chickpeas and place them in a legume bag that you then introduce into the pan with the meats, covering with boiling water and adding onion and turnip.
5. Cooking the Meats: Cover and let cook for 6 hours, skimming occasionally to remove any impurities that may arise during cooking.
6. Preparing Vegetables and Sausages: Boil potatoes and carrots in another pot and reserve them in an oven at 70 ºC, while blanching cabbage for 15 minutes with boiling water, then add curly kale to cook for another 15 minutes.
7. Preparing the Sausages: Reserve half a liter of cooking broth, and boil chorizo, blood sausage, and bacon in it; once cooked, reserve them in the oven along with the vegetables.
8. Tomato Sauce and Garlic Oil: Prepare the tomato sauce by blanching and peeling pear tomatoes, mashing them together with a garlic clove and toasted cumin seeds, then drizzle everything with extra virgin olive oil. For the garlic oil, heat the oil with garlic until golden brown.
9. Preparing the First Course: Slice a spring onion into thin strips and serve it alongside green peppers in vinegar. Add vegetable cooking broth and two ladles of sausage and bacon cooking broth to the meat broth, add angel hair pasta, and cook for 5-8 minutes before serving.
10. Final Seasoning: Season the soup with salt, sugar, and vinegar, and serve as the first course accompanied by spring onions and red peppers. Then, serve the second course by adding all vegetables to a dish and drizzling them with garlic oil, along with the tomato sauce. Finally, serve the third course with meats drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.

Tips and Techniques

• Proper Desalting: The pig’s foot needs to be desalted to eliminate excess salt that can result in an overly salty dish.
• Regular Skimming: During cooking, it is important to skim regularly to maintain a clean and clear broth.
• Gradual Cooking: Vegetables and sausages should be cooked separately to avoid them falling apart or overcooking.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Not Soaking the Chickpeas: If you don’t soak the chickpeas, they can remain hard and difficult to eat.
• Overcooking the Vegetables: Vegetables must be carefully cooked so that they do not fall apart during the process.
• Improper Seasoning of Final Soup: The soup should be well seasoned but without overdoing it.

How to Know It Turned Out Well

The result is a dish full of varied flavors and textures. Meats should be juicy and tender, vegetables al dente, and the tomato sauce should balance the overall flavor. Pasta should be al dente, and the broth should have an intense but not overly sweet taste.

Madrilenian cocido is a recipe worth preparing with family, as its preparation and tasting are unique and unforgettable experiences. For more details, you can consult the original source of this recipe at bonviveur.com (https://bonviveur.com/es/recetas/cocido-madrileno-casero).