RECIPE: How to make a hearty Cocido Madrileño

It appears on Menu del Dia's across the city during the winter season. But for those of you who want to recreate it at home, it's an easy dish to make.

Here's The Local’s favourite cocido recipe (serves 6):

Ingredients

• 400 g chickpeas
• 250 g veal, cut into 5cm chunks
• 140 g chunks of Serrano ham
• 1 5” ham bone
• 1 3” chunk of veal bone marrow
• 140g 5cm thick bacon chunks
• 1 large 25cm chorizo cut into thick slices
• Morcilla (optional) cut into thick slices
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 onion
• 2 large carrots
• 2 potatoes
• 1 cup fideos (fine pasta noodles) Optional
• Half a cabbage (optional)
• Water, enough to cover the ingredients plus five centimetres more.
• Olive oil
• Salt

Instructions

1. Allow garbanzo beans to sit in water overnight. drain excess water and set aside.
2. Peel the garlic, onion, carrots and potatoes and set aside.
3. Cook veal, bones, chorizo and ham in a large pot in just enough water to cover. Add salt to taste.
4. When the water begins to boil, remove the excess foam.
5. After an hour, add the chickpeas, garlic, onion and carrots, whole.
6. Cover pot and simmer for an hour and a half.
7. Drain the stock and reserve the rest of the ingredients on a platter.
8. Put the stock back into the same pot and use it to cook the noodles.
9. In a different pot, boil the peeled potatoes. Drain and place along with the rest of the ingredients you reserved.
10. Cut the cooked vegetables into big chunks and add to the meat platter.

To serve: 

Tradionally, Madrileños start their meal by drinking the rich hearty broth before being served with a deep bowl of the drained meat and veg. Best served with some crunchy fresh bread. 

You'll probably feel like a siesta afterwards!