Chickpeas, meats, sausages and vegetables simmered for hours in one pot, then served in turns: the broth with noodles, then everything else.
What makes it cocido madrileño
Chickpeas, soaked and cooked slowly.
Beef, chicken, pork belly, chorizo and morcilla in the same pot.
Served in courses, the broth first with fine noodles.
Where it comes from
Many historians trace it to adafina, the slow-cooked Sabbath stew of chickpeas and meat made by Spain's Jewish communities. Pork, some say, was added after the expulsion of the Jews and later the Moriscos, when eating it could be a public sign of being Christian — a story often told, and hard to settle.
In Madrid it became a winter lunch in taverns and homes, served in vuelcos — turns of the pot: first the soup, then the chickpeas and vegetables, then the meats.
How it varies
Cocido montañés
Cantabria's, with white beans and cabbage.
Cocido maragato
From León, eaten backwards — meats first, soup last.