A bit of cocido history

We walked into the South Supermarket one morning and found cans of Norenense Spanish chorizos. Immediately we thought of cooking cocido for dinner. So we took a small can. We got two pieces of knee caps and two big chunks of bulalo, a cabbage, potatoes, stalks of leeks and celery plus red onions. Where we grew up, cocido has always been called puchero. This difference in names, after years of cooking this dish at home, led us to resurrect our Spanish cookbook from our library for more enlightenment as to what differentiates them.

They are one and the same, according to American journalist Janet Mendel whose cookbook, “Cooking in Spain,” was published more than 20 years ago, she having lived there for decades. Thus we learned a bit more of cocido history.

According to Mendel, cocido, not paella, is the “real” national dish of Spain. Simply, the natives call it “boiled dinner,” but then it is more complicated than plain boiling, considering the many ingredients and length of time it takes in the process of cooking it. Depending on the region, it is called puchero, pote, olla or escudella. Don Quixote and Sancho Pancha had this as olla podrida, rotten pot, because it has been allowed to cook until it becomes almost like mush.

Its main ingredients are meat, which can be beef, mutton, pork or even chicken, and sausages. A must is the Spanish chorizo, as is bacon. Vegetables, garbanzos (chick peas) are added to it. Through the years a lot more elements have been included. It has been said that the slow cooking process came about because Mosaic law forbade work during Sabbath. Thus cocido was left to boil until it is ready by sundown.

The most typical of all recipes is the Cocido Madrileño. Its broth is strained and made into soup as first course of a meal, with the addition of fideos (fine) noodles.

Here is our own recipe for what evolved from the cocido of our earlier years.

You need a kilo beef, cut into serving pieces; 4 onions, 2 sliced, 2 cut into quarters; 10 tomatoes, sliced and divided into 2 portions, one stalk each of leek and celery; one-fourth cup olive oil; one head native garlic, crushed; one chorizo, sliced; a can of tomato sauce; 2 tsps Spanish paprika; one-fourth kilo bacon, cooked; one-fourth kilo Baguio beans; 4 pcs carrots, cut lengthwise; salt and pepper to taste and peppercorns.

In a casserole, tenderize beef with salt and pepper, peppercorns, one portion of tomatoes, the quartered onions, leeks and celery. Cook until tender, then set aside. In olive oil, sauté garlic, the remaining tomatoes and onions. Add chorizo and bacon. Pour the tomato sauce then add the paprika. Cover and seal the flavors for a few minutes.

In another casserole, cook carrots, beans and cabbage in the broth, with a dash of paprika. When done, drain. Arrange the meat on one side of the serving platter, lay out the veggies on the side, then pour remaining sauce over. Now the family is ready to dine like royalty, to whom the cocido was served during the early Spanish era.

Have a good Sunday meal!

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