Boy you guys out there on the planet don’t know what you are missing! Forget the gazpacho and the paella (pronounced, by the way, /pah-eya/) and make some room for this classic stew from the capital which works great for a day like today, when the sky is so gray and the mist so thick I can barely see the Retiro Park just a block away. In terms of eating on a cold day, it is as close to paradise as you can get. The ingredients are the following, grab your veins:
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Chickpeas
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A hunk of beef
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Old hen meat
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Chorizo
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Thick fresh bacon
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Lard
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Black Pudding (I usually add this on the side so as not to dominate the soup)
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Cabbage
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Carrots
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Potatoes
As we speak I have two enormous pots stweing the bones, hen, beef, bacon and lard. And the chickpeas too. I soaked them in water last night to soften them. As the liquid concentrates, I extract it from the pots and put it into a bowl and have added whole spearmint leaves to soak. That is a traditional touch in the Madrilanian cocido which I just learned about yesterday from the woman at a nearby shop which specializes in these things.
I will use the liquid to make a noodle soup. That is the traiditional first course.
The next stage will be to add the chorizos and, in another pot, the vegetables. I stew them last because otherwise they can get overcooked. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes!
tremendo cocido Murdock, como siempre….
Y bien merecido para un hombre que había hecho medio-maratón ayer por la mañana. Eres un monstruo. El cocido no estuvo mal, hay que decirlo. Aún sobra! ¿Alguien se anima?