Madrid stew. It is one of the most representative dishes of Madrid cuisine. It consists of a stew whose main ingredient is chickpeas and secondary, although with great prominence, various vegetables, meats and pork bacon with some sausage.
Summary
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- 1 Story
- 2 Characteristics of Madrid stew
- 3 Ingredients for 4 people
- 4 Ingredients for the filling:
- 5 Preparation
- 6 Presentation
- 7 Nutrition
- 8 Sources
History
Its Madrid origin is rather uncertain. Most culinary historians point to an evolution of the La Mancha rotten pot (commonly mentioned in Golden Age literature). However, it appears with the name of Madrid in this dish already at the end of the 17th century. The identification with the capital of Spain is made in a period that goes from the end of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th century. During this identification, the dish had to be accepted by the Spanish bourgeois class and by the Spanish Court, something that occurs when it appears on restaurant menus and abandons its place in taverns and bar.
Characteristics of Madrid stew
The stew is a quiet preparation dish, some culinary authors mention its characteristic of “doing it alone”, and even that of having “own responsibility”, in this way Bardají mentions that “if it goes wrong, he will be to blame, if it turns out well he knows”. Luis Antonio de Vega is of the same opinion. This is to reaffirm that the preparation of the stew does not require basic preparation operations, characteristics of other dishes, such as cutting, peeling of its ingredients, etc. This is a characteristic that differentiates the Madrid stew from the rest of the Spanish stews. There are different compositions of the ingredients of a stew but basically they are summarized in the use of: chickpeas, meat (pork, beef and chicken), pork bacon and potato. The simplicity of processing means that all these meat ingredients are completely immersed in cold water in a saucepan and left at the expense of a heat source for a few hours. Traditionally, wide-base clay pots have been used in the uninterrupted cooking of ingredients, but little by little nowadays the pressure cooker or express pot has become more popular. This modern option has caused a debate among chefs, due to the fact that a sacrifice of flavor is alleged in the final result in favor of a reduced cooking time. Another alternative is the use of slow cookers that, on the contrary, keep the ingredients at temperatures of 80 ºC or 90 ºC for an extended period of time in order to enhance the flavors. It is generally accepted that cooked one day, achieves better flavor the day after. Although it is true, this statement is all the more evident the faster the stew has been made. The reason for this behavior is the time it takes for the sapid particles of the ingredients to diffuse throughout all foods.
Ingredients for 4 people
- 250 g chickpeas
- 300 g of black pudding
- ¼ hen
- 100 g of white or streaky bacon
- 100 g onion blood sausage
- 100 g chorizo
- 50 g of serrano ham tip
- 4 marrow bones about 5 cm
- 1 kg of cabbage
- 4 medium potatoes
- 2 carrots
- 1 onion
- 1 turnip
- 1 clove garlic
- Olive oil for sautéing
- 100 g of noodle hair soup
Ingredients for the stuffing:
- 2 eggs
- 75 g breadcrumbs
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
- Olive oil
Preparation
Soak the chickpeas the night before in warm water with a little salt. The next morning, take them out and drain them. Place the meats, the bacon, the washed bones and the ham in a large, wide-base casserole, and cover with about 4 liters of water. Put the casserole on the fire and, when it starts to boil, the foam will rise to the surface. Remove it with the slotted spoon and add the chickpeas. At the second boil add the carrot, onion and turnip. Simmer for three hours or more, until the chickpeas are tender. Twenty minutes before the end, add the potatoes, peeled and cut in half. Taste and add salt. Simultaneously, in another pot, cook the chopped cabbage for half an hour. Drain and sauté with the garlic. Cook the chorizo and the blood sausage in a separate container so that they do not stain the broth. Filling: beat the eggs and knead them with the breadcrumbs, the very minced garlic, the parsley and some salt. Form with two spoons a kind of crushed croquettes and fry them in abundant oil, very hot. It is not necessary to flour them or pass them by egg, since the dough holds without breaking. When the stew is going to be served, introduce them into the broth and bring to a boil.
Presentation
The Madrid stew is said to be three turns. First the soup with noodles is served (for this you have to cook them in the broth for 5 minutes). Then the chickpeas are presented in a bowl with the vegetables: the sautéed cabbage, the carrot and the sliced turnip (about 2 centimeters). The onion is added to the broth for flavor, but removed. It is also accompanied with the filling and, in a sauce boat, peeled, chopped and fried tomato. The third turn is made up of the sliced meats, the meats, the bacon and the cane bones. The marrow smeared on toast is delicious.
Nutrition
From a nutritional point of view, a stew has all the necessary elements for food. On the one hand, chickpeas, potatoes and vegetables are a contribution of carbohydrates and fiber. On the other hand, the meat dishes offer a protein contribution, to which the chickpea itself contributes as a legume. Chickpeas are deficient in the sulfur amino acids methionine and cysteine, while the meats added to the cooked balance this contribution.
