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Soup season · Madrid, Spain
The best bowl in Madrid: Cocido madrileño
Madrid's chickpea and meat pot, served in two turns (vuelcos): first the broth with fine noodles, then the chickpeas, meats and vegetables.
Cocido is Madrid's winter lunch and its argument-starter. At La Bola it's still made one clay pot per person over oak charcoal, the way it was in 1870.
La Bola
Calle de la Bola 5, 28013 Madrid
Get: Cocido madrileño in its own clay pot, both vuelcos
Un cocido, por favor, con los dos vuelcos.A cocido, please, both turns.
Founded in 1870 by Cándida Santos; every cocido simmers four hours in its own hand-made clay pot over oak charcoal.
Lunch is the time. Booking is not optional.
Make it at home
Cocido madrileño
Soak the chickpeas overnight. Everything simmers gently together; the chorizo and cabbage cook separately so the broth stays clean. Serve in three vuelcos (turns).
You need
- 1 lb (450 g) dried chickpeas, soaked overnight in water with 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 lb (680 g) beef shank or brisket in one piece
- 1/2 free-range chicken (or 4 thighs)
- 8 oz (225 g) slab pancetta or salt pork (tocino) in one piece
- 1 ham bone or 4 oz (115 g) serrano ham end
- 2 beef marrow bones
- 2 Spanish chorizos (about 8 oz / 225 g total) and 1 morcilla (blood sausage), optional
- 4 medium potatoes, peeled
- 3 carrots, peeled
- 1 small Savoy cabbage, cut into wedges
- 3 garlic cloves, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp sweet pimentón
- 4 oz (115 g) thin fideo noodles (or angel hair broken into short pieces)
- 2 1/2 tsp salt
- To serve: tomato sauce, pickled guindilla peppers, crusty bread
How to make it
- Put the beef, chicken, pancetta, ham bone and marrow bones in a very large pot with 5 quarts (4.7 l) cold water. Bring slowly to a boil, skimming off the foam for 10 minutes until the broth is clean.
- Drain the chickpeas, put them in a mesh bag or tie them in cheesecloth (so they're easy to lift out), and add to the boiling pot. The water must be boiling when they go in or they toughen.
- Lower to a gentle simmer, partly cover, and cook 2 1/2 hours. Top up with boiling water if the level drops below the chickpeas, never cold.
- Add the carrots, potatoes and salt and simmer 30 to 40 minutes more, until the chickpeas are creamy and the potatoes tender.
- Meanwhile, simmer the chorizo and morcilla in a separate pan of water for 20 minutes (they stain the broth if cooked in the pot). In another pot, boil the cabbage in salted water 12 minutes, drain, then sauté with the garlic, olive oil and pimentón for 3 minutes.
- Strain off about 8 cups (2 l) of broth into a saucepan, bring to a boil, add the noodles and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Taste for salt.
- First vuelco: serve the soup with noodles.
- Second vuelco: lift out the chickpeas, potatoes, carrots and cabbage onto a platter, with a drizzle of olive oil, tomato sauce and pickled peppers alongside.
- Third vuelco: carve the beef, chicken, pancetta, chorizo and morcilla onto another platter, with the marrow bones for spreading on bread.
Pans and tools
- Very large stockpot (at least 10 quarts)
- Mesh bag or cheesecloth for the chickpeas
- Two extra saucepans
- Skimmer
Chef's tips
- Use Spanish chickpeas (garbanzos de Madrigal or Fuentesaúco) if you can find them; they turn creamy.
- Leftovers become ropa vieja: fry the meats and chickpeas with onion the next day.
- Never add cold water to the pot: it shocks and toughens the chickpeas.
Four more bowls in Madrid
Castilian garlic soup
Bread, garlic and pimentón in broth with a poached egg and ham, baked in a clay bowl.
Casa Botín · Calle de Cuchilleros 17, 28005 Madrid
Get: Sopa de ajo con huevo, then the cochinillo (roast suckling pig) from the wood oven
Una sopa de ajo con huevo, por favor.A garlic soup with egg, please.
Opened in 1725 and in the record books as the world's oldest restaurant; its garlic soup with egg and ham is a fixture.
Make it at home: Sopa castellana (Castilian garlic soup)
Shepherds' food: stale bread, garlic and pimentón. The egg poaches right in the bowl.
You need
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) olive oil
- 8 cloves garlic, sliced
- 3 oz (85 g) serrano ham, diced
- 6 oz (170 g) stale country bread, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp sweet pimentón (Spanish smoked paprika, dulce)
- 1 1/2 quarts (1.4 l) chicken or ham broth
- 4 eggs
- Salt, chopped parsley
How to make it
- Heat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Warm the oil in a pot and cook the garlic gently until golden; add the ham for 1 minute.
- Add the bread and fry 2 minutes, turning. Off the heat, stir in the pimentón.
- Add the broth, bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes, until the bread softens. Season.
- Ladle into 4 ovenproof bowls, crack an egg into each, and bake 5 to 6 minutes, until the whites set. Scatter parsley and serve.
Chef's tips
- Take the pimentón off the heat to add it: it burns in seconds.
Consommé from the samovar
A clear, deep beef and chicken consommé poured from a silver samovar, drunk standing up with a croqueta.
Lhardy · Carrera de San Jerónimo 8, 28014 Madrid
Get: A cup of consommé from the samovar in the front shop, with a croqueta (pour it yourself)
Un consomé, por favor.A consommé, please.
Since 1839 Madrileños have walked in from the cold and poured themselves a consommé from the silver urn in Lhardy's shop.
Make it at home: Clear Spanish consommé
Madrid's consommé is a long, gentle broth of beef, hen and ham bone, strained until it's as clear as tea. A splash of dry sherry is traditional.
You need
- 2 lb (900 g) beef shank, bone in
- 1 hen or chicken carcass plus 4 chicken wings
- 1 ham bone or 4 oz (115 g) serrano ham end
- 4 quarts (3.8 l) cold water
- 1 onion, halved and charred in a dry pan
- 2 carrots, 1 leek, 1 celery stalk
- 1 tsp salt
- Dry fino sherry, to serve
How to make it
- Put the meats and bone in the cold water, bring slowly to a simmer and skim carefully for 15 minutes.
- Add the vegetables and simmer at the barest bubble, uncovered, 3 1/2 hours. Never let it boil, or it clouds.
- Ladle (don't pour) the broth through a sieve lined with damp cheesecloth. Chill and lift off the fat.
- Reheat, season, and serve in cups with a teaspoon of fino in each.
Chef's tips
- Shred the beef and chicken for croquetas: that's what Lhardy does.
Madrid-style tripe
Tripe, trotters, chorizo and morcilla simmered until the sauce is sticky and red: Madrid's winter spoon dish.
La Tasquita de Enfrente · Calle de la Ballesta 6, 28004 Madrid
Get: The callos (named Garaona after the owner's father)
Unos callos, por favor.The tripe, please.
Madrid food writers call its callos among the city's most emblematic. Book ahead.
Winter.
Make it at home: Callos a la madrileña
Better the second day, when the sauce has turned to jelly and reheats glossy.
You need
- 2 lb (900 g) cleaned beef tripe, in 1 1/2-inch (4 cm) squares
- 1 pig's or calf's trotter, split
- 1 onion, halved, 1 bay leaf, 6 peppercorns
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped, 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 8 oz (225 g) Spanish chorizo, sliced
- 6 oz (170 g) morcilla, sliced
- 4 oz (115 g) serrano ham, diced
- 1 tbsp sweet pimentón, 1 tsp hot pimentón
- 1 tbsp tomato paste, 1 guindilla or small dried chile
- Salt
How to make it
- Blanch the tripe and trotter 5 minutes in boiling water, drain, then cover with fresh water and add the halved onion, bay and peppercorns. Simmer 3 hours, until the tripe is very tender.
- Lift out the trotter, pick the meat off and chop it; keep 3 cups (720 ml) of the cooking liquid.
- In a clean pot, fry the chopped onion and garlic in the oil 10 minutes. Add the chorizo, ham and morcilla for 3 minutes, then off the heat stir in both pimentóns and the tomato paste.
- Add the tripe, trotter meat, chile and the cooking liquid. Simmer gently 30 minutes, stirring, until the sauce is thick and sticky. Season and serve with bread.
Chef's tips
- Make it a day ahead and reheat slowly.
Asturian bean stew
Big white fabes beans cooked with chorizo, morcilla and pork belly until creamy, eaten with cider.
Casa Mingo · Paseo de la Florida 34, 28008 Madrid
Get: Fabada, roast chicken and a bottle of the house cider, poured from high
Una fabada y una botella de sidra, por favor.A bean stew and a bottle of cider, please.
An Asturian cider house beside the Goya chapel since 1888, with long tables and the same menu for over a century.
Make it at home: Fabada asturiana
Never stir fabada with a spoon: shake the pot, so the beans stay whole.
You need
- 1 lb (450 g) fabes (or large dried white beans), soaked overnight
- 2 Asturian chorizos (or Spanish chorizo, about 8 oz / 225 g)
- 2 morcillas (about 8 oz / 225 g)
- 8 oz (225 g) pork belly or lacón, in one piece
- 1 onion, halved, 2 cloves garlic
- A pinch of saffron, 1 tsp sweet pimentón
- 2 tbsp olive oil, salt
How to make it
- Put the drained beans in a wide pot with the meats, onion and garlic and cold water to cover by 1 inch (2.5 cm). Bring slowly to a boil and skim.
- Add a splash of cold water (the 'scare') to stop the boil, then simmer very gently 2 1/2 hours. Shake the pot instead of stirring, and add cold water in splashes when the beans show.
- Toast the saffron, crush it into the olive oil with the pimentón and stir it in for the last 30 minutes.
- Take out the meats and slice them, then return. Rest 20 minutes, season and serve.
Chef's tips
- Fabada always tastes better rested; it can be made hours ahead.
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No. 1 checked October 28, 2026; the other four picked the same day from local guides and menus. Places change; if one has, tell us at hello@chefamazing.com.
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