Cocido From Castilla La Mancha

Fit for Company, Rewarms Well, Great Leftovers, Grass-Fed Beef

SERVES:6 to 8

Despite the fact that paella is ubiquitous in restaurants all over Spain, it’s not the national dish. That title goes to cocido. Cocido is a boiled dinner made up of chickpeas, broth, fresh and cured meats, and various vegetables. It can be served in one bowl, or its components can be divided into courses: a soup course, a bean course, and a meat course. It may include condiments, or it may not. Every region has its own variation. One of the most famous versions is cocido Madrileño, from Madrid. It’s such a revered dish that many restaurants there specialize in just cocido. In fact, in the narrow streets behind the palace, there is a whole neighborhood of cocido Madrileño restaurants. Sunday lunch seems to be the time for families to pursue cocido.

One restaurant, named Lhardy, is so popular that a line usually stretches down the stairs and onto the street. And it produces so much extra broth that passers-by are invited to wander in, fill up a cup, and stand around, perhaps purchasing some warm meat-filled turnovers to accompany it. My recipe is an amalgam of two or three versions I had in Madrid and in a neighboring region, Castilla-La Mancha.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups (1 pound) dried chickpeas, picked over and rinsed
• 4 quarts homemade beef stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 serrano ham bone
• ½ pound fatty serrano ham trimmings, including bits of skin, fat and lean meat
• 1 ½-pound chunk pancetta or salt pork
• 3 pounds bone-in beef short ribs, brisket, or shanks
• 2 teaspoons Spanish paprika
• ½ teaspoon Spanish saffron threads or ⅛ teaspoon powdered saffron
• 2 bay leaves
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound semicured Spanish chorizo, homemade  or store-bought
• 1 pound Spanish blood sausages
• 6 chicken leg quarters, legs and thighs separated
• 6 carrots, peeled and cut in half
• 3 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 3 medium onions
• 4 medium leeks, white and pale green parts
• 2 small heads green cabbage, each cored and cut into 6 wedges
• 12 small red potatoes, scrubbed
• Salt
• ¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Soak the chickpeas in cold water to cover overnight; drain.
2. Combine the stock, chickpeas, ham bone (if using), ham trimmings, pancetta, beef, paprika, saffron, bay leaves, and 1 teaspoon pepper in a large Dutch oven and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn down the heat and simmer for 1 to 1½ hours, or until the chickpeas and beef are almost tender.
3. Add the chorizo, blood sausages, chicken, carrots, garlic, onions, leeks, cabbage, and potatoes and simmer for 30 minutes, or until everything is tender and the chicken is fully cooked. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Remove the meats and set aside. Remove the vegetables to a platter. Discard the bay leaves, ham bone, and skin. Cut the beef into chunks and discard the bones. Cut the sausages into 1-inch chunks. Slice the pancetta thickly. Arrange the meat on the platter with the vegetables and garnish with the parsley. Strain the broth and serve the broth and chickpeas separately.

ALTERNATIVE CUTS:

• Tough, gristly cuts of bison, while not traditional, are ideal for this dish. Use shank, short ribs, or neck, and increase the cooking time before adding the sausages, vegetables, and chicken.
• Other beef choices include any boneless chuck pot roast cuts or rump, bottom round, or eye-of-round roast. You could also use a rolled and tied flank steak, skirt steak, or bottom sirloin flap steak (bavette). Sirloin tip and chuck cross-rib roast are other good choices.
• Veal, beef, or pork tongue is also excellent in cocido. Or consider making it with tough cuts from grass-fed beef, such as shank, brisket, short ribs, and neck.

COOK’S NOTES:

• Instead of a serrano ham bone, use a bone from any ham or throw in a ham hock.
• If you don’t have serrano ham scraps, increase the pancetta to ¾ pound.
• I use Spanish paprika and saffron in this dish because of their rich taste.