Cocido madrileño
Madrid's great chickpea stew, slow-simmered with meats and vegetables and served in courses — first the broth as a noodle soup, then the chickpeas and vegetables, then the meats.
Cocido madrileño is the winter soul-food of Madrid: chickpeas and an armoury of meats — beef, chicken, chorizo, morcilla, tocino, marrow bone — plus cabbage and potato, all simmered for hours in one pot. What makes it a ritual is the serving. The dish arrives in vuelcos, or 'tips of the pot': first the strained broth poured over fine noodles as a soup, then the chickpeas and vegetables, and finally the platter of meats. A long, unhurried lunch built for a cold day and a good sobremesa.
How it's served
In two or three courses (vuelcos) from the same pot: the noodle soup first, then chickpeas and vegetables, then the meats. A leisurely winter lunch.
- Origin
- Madrid, Spain
- Etymology
- From cocer, 'to boil or cook'; madrileño marks it as the capital's version of the pan-Spanish cocido.
Frequently asked
How is cocido madrileño served?
In courses called vuelcos. The broth is strained off and served first as a soup with fine noodles, then the chickpeas and vegetables come out, and finally the meats — chorizo, morcilla, beef, chicken, tocino — on a platter.
What is in a cocido madrileño?
Chickpeas at the heart, with beef, chicken, chorizo, morcilla, tocino and a marrow bone, plus cabbage, potato and sometimes a meat-and-breadcrumb dumpling called a pelota.
Related terms
- ChorizoThe iconic Spanish pork sausage, deep red from smoked paprika (pimentón). Comes cured (sliced cold like jamón) or fresh (cooked in stews and over coals).
- MorcillaSpanish blood sausage. Burgos style is rice-based and crumbly; Asturian style is onion-heavy and richer. Always cooked before eating.
- SobremesaThe post-meal stretch where you stay at the table talking, drinking coffee or a digestif, with no rush to leave. A protected cultural institution.