International Cocido Day, February 27, a typical dish of the Spanish cuisine

Cocido, a very traditional dish, represents one of the pillars of Spanish gastronomy. But we do not only have the Cocido Madrileño, as there are many versions all over the country. This stew made with chickpeas, vegetables and different meats, served in three bowls, is a very hearty dish with a lot of history. It is so popular that it even has its own day on the calendar. Every February 27th is celebrated the International Day of Cocido; in addition, coinciding with this day, we also have the Ruta del Cocido. Stay to learn more about this dish and all the options we have this month to taste a good stew.

But first, let’s talk a little more about this magnificent stew

This stew is a very hearty dish, perfect for cold days, when it was common to eat it to warm up and regain strength, since the stew included all the necessary ingredients for a complete meal. We have to take into account that in the past, work required much more physical effort than nowadays.

It is a very old dish, with many years of history. Since man began with pottery, creating containers, certain ingredients were already put with water on the fire, in order to soften them and be able to eat them. However, its exact origin is unknown. Although it is believed that its origin is in a typical dish of Jewish origin, the adafina, a stew of chickpeas and lamb meat, between the tenth and fifth century BC. With the passage of time the recipe was modified and other ingredients were added, such as pork or potatoes, thus changing its flavor and color.

Celebrate Cocido Day by preparing your own stew, it’s so easy!

One of the advantages of this dish is that, besides being delicious and liked by everyone, it is a very easy recipe to prepare. Especially if we prepare it in a fast cooker or express cooker. It requires practically no time at all, since all the work will be done by the cooker. So one of the best ways to celebrate Cocido Day is, without a doubt, preparing it yourself at home.

Cocido Madrileño and all the possibilities it offers us.

This hearty dish, pillar of our gastronomy and of international fame, is the standard of Spanish food. A stew that lacks nothing, as simple to prepare as adding all the ingredients to cook in a pot (although there are many tricks and variants for a more curious elaboration). With its typical three turnovers: the soup, the chickpeas with the vegetables and, finally, the meat and the sausages; this stew admits many ingredients, as we will see next:

• The first volco, the soup. It is elaborated with the broth of the own stew, the water where we have cooked all the other ingredients. Therefore it is a broth with a very intense flavor. With all that it contains, it is difficult for the soup to be bad. Some people take the opportunity to make a larger quantity of broth to freeze it and have it always ready for a very hot soup.

Want a trick to make soups taste great?

When the stew is ready, in a mortar, crush a couple of cloves of garlic, a couple of mint leaves and a pinch of cumin. We crush it very well, add a spoonful of broth if necessary and, once ready, we add it to the broth of the stew and mix well. You will have a spectacular soup, with a very good touch.

Now that we have the broth, we have two options to serve the stew soup or the first volco. To make a noodle soup or a bread soup. For me, my favorite is the second one. To make it, simply pour the broth into a deep dish and fill it with small pinches of a good loaf of bread. It doesn’t need cooking of any kind or any other elaboration, just add the bread to the broth and soak it well.

• The chickpeas: remember to soak them the night before! The protagonists of the second turn. There are many varieties to add to our stew. Broadly speaking, we can distinguish between the smallest, soft chickpeas with a thin skin, and the largest, of the Kabuli variety.
  
• Regarding the vegetables, we can add practically the one we like the most. Any vegetable that we include will give our stew a spectacular flavor. For me, some essential ones are cabbage, turnip, carrot and potato. But we can add many more, for example zucchini, leeks, green beans, celery, pumpkin, bell pepper… Any option is good

This stew can be flavored with a multitude of different ingredients to flavor the broth

• And finally, the meat. You can’t miss the blood sausage or beef brisket, a piece of chicken, ham, chorizos and black pudding, bacon… But we can also add, for example, ear, or an ingredient less and less common but also very used until not long ago: crestas.
  Regarding the bones, to give more flavor to the broth, we can add ham, backbone or knee bones.
  

When it comes to taste, there is nothing written. And every house has its own version of this popular dish. Do you dare to celebrate the day of the cocido madrileño as tradition dictates? Or do you prefer to innovate with any of the following options?

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Happy Cocido Day!