COCIDO ‘LOLA’
Homestyle Spanish Chickpea Stew
COCIDO ‘LOLA’
This recipe comes from our Spade & Spatula Blog, found here.
This recipe, for what is one of Spain’s national dishes, comes from our friend Lola, the chef and owner at Casa Rural Entresierras, a small bar and restaurant in the mountain city of Beires. For most of the year it’s filled with locals enjoying a beer, some bites, and some dominoes. But, for a few months every summer, the restaurant bustles with Sierra Nevada through-hikers, eagerly slurping Lola’s hearty and delicious braises, soups, and stews, including this one, made rich and satisfying by a seemingly excessive variety of meats and bones.
Spanish Cocido ‘de LOLA’
Serves 6
Ingredients
1/2 lb (1 rounded cup) dried chickpeas and 1/2 lb (1 rounded cup) dried favas; or 1 lb dried chickpeas
1 onion
1 bay leaf
A few sprigs parsley
2 cloves garlic
4 whole peppercorns (if you don’t have a mortar, ground in an electric grinder or from a mill (about 12 turns))
1 cup thick egg-noodles, dried (optional)
Country-style bread or baguette, toasted
Meats
1 small chicken, about 2 lbs
1 lb fresh or cured ham hock, in one piece
2 small soup bones, preferably marrowbones or spine
1 pig trotter (optional)
1/4 lb salt pork or bacon, in one piece
2 (3-ounce) chorizos (optional; if not using, sub 1 tsp paprika)
Vegetables
1 lb russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch coins
Some notes on ingredients:
Already very meaty, Lola’s original recipe omits the chorizos, usually a traditional element of cocidos from around the country. I’ve included them here, their fat and flavor indispensable for me in cocido. Feel free to omit, as Lola has, but be sure to substitute with the paprika as suggested.
A head of cabbage (coarsely chopped) or turnips (cut as potatoes) and their greens (chopped) are also both common and delicious additions. If using, add at the same time as the sausages and potatoes.
Making the Cocido
Rinse beans, and place in a bowl with enough cold water to cover by 3 inches. Soak at least 8 hours and up to overnight. If using either a cured hock, salt pork (not bacon), or both, cover with warm water and soak overnight.
To prepare the soup, drain the hock or salt pork if soaked. In a large stockpot, add the chicken, ham hock, soup bones, trotter (if using), salt pork, onion, bay leaf, and parsley. Add cool water to cover by 3 inches and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil 10 minutes, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface.
Drain the beans and add them to the pot. Reduce the heat to to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook. After 20 minutes, remove the chicken and check the breasts for doneness. If they need a bit more time, return the chicken to the pot, checking every 10 minutes until just cooked. Once done, carve the breasts from the chicken and return the rest to the pot. Chop or shred the breast and reserve on a plate.
Continue cooking the meats and beans for about 1 1/2 hours more, skimming regularly and adding water as necessary to keep the ingredients covered.
Now add the chorizos (if using) and vegetables (see note about additions). Continue to simmer 30 minutes more.
Meanwhile, combine the garlic, peppercorns, and a pinch of salt in a mortar, and mash to a fine paste. (If you don’t have a mortar, finely mince the garlic and add the freshly ground peppercorns).
Now, all should be ready: the beans just giving, the meats almost falling apart, and the chorizos and potatoes fork tender. Remove all of the meats and bones to a platter until cool enough to handle.
Stir the garlic-pepper paste and noodles (if using) into the pot and simmer for about 8 minutes more, until the noodles are done. Reduce the heat to low and keep warm.
When the meats have cooled, chop or shred all into bite-sized pieces and return, along with the reserved chicken breast, to the soup. If using marrow bones, remove the marrow, spread onto the toasted bread, sprinkle with salt, and keep warm. Otherwise, discard the bones.
Check the cocido for salt and pepper to taste, ladle into large bowls, and serve with the bread (spread either with marrow, olive oil, or butter). Eat. Sleep.
A note about serving:
Though often served throughout Spain as a coursed meal – broth first, followed by the vegetables, beans, and meats on platters, Lola keeps things simple, serving it all at once, as above. You’re welcome to do either, though the coursed presentation makes for a particularly impressive special occasion feast. If you choose this route, a few things to bear in mind:
Loosely tie-up the drained beans in cheesecloth or butter muslin before adding them to the pot (this will help to remove them later)
Slice, rather than chop, the chicken breasts for later serving.
Once everything is cooked as described, stir in only the garlic-pepper paste (reserving the dried noodles for later). Allow to sit for a couple of minutes, then remove everything from the pot – beans, meats, and vegetables – leaving only broth. Discard the bones, doing as above with any marrow.
(Optionally,) Strain the broth and add to another pot. Bring the broth, strained or not, back to a simmer, add the noodles, and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Keep warm.
Meanwhile, when the meats have cooled slightly, cut them all into serving pieces and arrange on a warmed platter along with the reserved chicken breast. Empty the beans from the cheesecloth onto another warmed platter and arrange the cooked vegetables around them. Keep both platters warm in a low oven.
Serve the broth as the first course, accompanied by the bread (spread with either marrow, olive oil, or butter). Serve both platters following, with more bread and olive oil (optionally, you can divide these as well, serving the vegetables as a second course followed by the meats as a third).