Winter meat & vegetable stew
Cocido
Every region in Spain has its own version of a cocido and each household has a variation on the theme. In simple terms, it’s just like making a huge vat of stock, only you eat the meat, vegetables and legumes as well as the soup. Some households might serve the stock with a bit of cooked rice added for the first course, then use the chickpeas, vegetables and meat as a second course. Others, like me, prefer to eat the cocido as one dish. Alternative ingredients you might like to try include parsnip, pumpkin (winter squash), potato, cabbage, beef bones with meat, beef knuckle bones, meatballs, pig’s tail …
SERVES 6
300 g (10½ oz/1½ cups) uncooked chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight
1 leek, pale part only, washed, dried and thinly sliced
1 brown onion, unpeeled
2 carrots
1 garlic bulb
1 small turnip
2 celery stalks
2 dried bay leaves
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
3–4 salted pork bones
60 g (2¼ oz) tocino
2 ham bones
1 ham hock
1 chicken drumstick
1 chicken thigh fillet
180 g (6 oz) pork spare ribs
Put all of the ingredients, except the chorizo and morcilla sausages, into a stockpot and cover well with water. Put onto the stove over high heat and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a steady, slow-rolling boil and cook for 2–2½ hours, but during this time it will need a little of your attention.
Skim the foam off the top as it appears for the first 15 minutes or so. As the water evaporates and reduces to the level of the ingredients, add enough cold water to cover well once more. This process is known as shocking the legumes and helps them to cook perfectly. Repeat two times more as the water reduces, but if you need to add more water a fourth time to keep the level up, then use hot water.
Around 30 minutes before the end of cooking time, add the chorizo and morcilla sausage. (If you’re adding potatoes, pumpkin or meatballs, add them at this point as well.)
To serve, remove the salted bones and discard. Transfer the remaining meat and vegetables to a plate and chop into bite-sized pieces. Serve either as a chunky soup/stew or serve the stock as a soup and the meat, vegetables and chickpeas on a separate plate.
Note
If using a pressure cooker, cook for 45 minutes, then add the chorizo and morcilla, and cook for another 10 minutes.
