The atlas · A cuisine · Castile and Madrid — the high central plateau of Spain, the meseta

Castilian and Madrid

Also Cocina castellana, Cocina madrileña, Castile
One of Spanish cooking's regional kitchens · all 7 side by side

The kitchen of the high, dry meseta: suckling pig and lamb roasted in wood-fired ovens, chickpeas and garlic soups for hard winters, and a capital that eats out, late and standing up.

Where it comes from

The meseta is high and dry, with cold winters and hot summers, and its cooking was made for both: sheep and pigs, wheat and chickpeas, garlic and pimentón, and bread used to the last crumb. Its great dishes are roasts — suckling pig in Segovia, milk-fed lamb along the Duero — cooked in the same wood-fired ovens as the bread.

Madrid became the capital in the sixteenth century and drew people from every region, so its taverns cook a little of everywhere. The cocido, the callos and the fried squid of its bars are its own.

To the south lies La Mancha, flat and dry, the country of Don Quixote, of manchego cheese, saffron and pisto — with Toledo, above the Tagus, known for its marzipan.

Where in it

  1. MadridThe capital eats late and out: cocido at lunch, callos and bravas at the bar, a squid sandwich by the Plaza Mayor, and churros dipped in chocolate at dawn.Cocido madrileñoPatatas bravasChurros con chocolateCallos a la madrileñaBocadillo de calamares
  2. SegoviaBeneath the Roman aqueduct, roast suckling pig so tender it's famously cut with the edge of a plate.Cochinillo asado
  3. Valladolid and the DueroThe heart of Castilla y León, on the Duero, where milk-fed lamb is roasted in wood ovens and drunk with the red wines of the Ribera del Duero.Lechazo asado
  4. BurgosA cathedral city on the pilgrims' road to Santiago, known for its morcilla made with rice and onion, and for a fresh white cheese that bears its name.
  5. Toledo and La ManchaToledo, high above the Tagus, is famous for its marzipan; beyond it lie the plains of La Mancha — manchego cheese, saffron fields and pisto.Pisto manchego

How it cooks

The wood oven
Suckling pig and lamb roasted slowly in wood-fired bread ovens in earthenware dishes, with little more than water, salt and lard.
The cocido
Chickpeas, meats and vegetables simmered together for hours and served in turns — broth, then vegetables, then meats.
Garlic and pimentón
Garlic fried gently in olive oil, pimentón stirred in off the heat so it doesn't burn — the start of soups, stews and callos.
Using the bread
Stale bread turned into garlic soup, fried into migas, or pounded to thicken a stew.
Frying for the bar
Squid, potatoes and churros fried fast in hot oil and eaten at once, at the counter.

Always in the kitchen

olive oilgarlicpimentónchickpeaslentilsstale breadjamónchorizomorcilla de Burgosmanchegosaffronlardbay leavesred winethymeeggs

Cook from it

Tonight, with what's good in October

Its classics

Castilian and MadridCocido madrileñoChickpeas, meats, sausages and vegetables simmered for hours in one pot, then served in turns: the broth with noodles, then everything else.No one here has made it yetCastilian and MadridPatatas bravasChunks of fried potato with a hot, pimentón-red sauce — the bar tapa found all over Spain.No one here has made it yetCastilian and MadridChurros con chocolateRidged strips of fried dough, crisp outside and soft within, dipped into thick hot chocolate.No one here has made it yetCastilian and MadridTortilla de patatasA thick omelette of potatoes and, usually, onion, slowly poached in olive oil, then set with eggs and turned in the pan.No one here has made it yetCastilian and MadridCochinillo asadoA milk-fed piglet, a few weeks old, roasted whole in a wood oven until the skin is glassy and crackling and the meat soft enough to cut with a plate.No one here has made it yetCastilian and MadridSopa castellanaGarlic soup: stale bread and sliced garlic fried in olive oil with pimentón, simmered in broth, with an egg poached in each bowl.No one here has made it yetCastilian and MadridCallos a la madrileñaBeef tripe stewed slowly with chorizo, morcilla and jamón in a thick, sticky, pimentón-red sauce.No one here has made it yetCastilian and MadridBocadillo de calamaresRings of squid, floured and fried, packed into a crusty white roll — Madrid's cheap, much-loved sandwich.No one here has made it yetCastilian and MadridLechazo asadoA quarter of milk-fed lamb roasted slowly in a wood-fired oven with only water, salt and a little lard, until the skin is golden and the meat almost melting.No one here has made it yetCastilian and MadridPisto manchegoOnions, peppers, courgettes and tomatoes cooked down slowly in olive oil into a soft, sweet stew, often with a fried egg on top.No one here has made it yet

Cooked here

No one here has cooked Castilian and Madrid yet.