Sightseeing in Madrid - City Guide

El Cocido (Stew)

The typical dish of Madrid is,without a doubt, the Cocido Madrileño. As in many other regions it is a stew made with meat, chicken and vegetables with chickpeas being the special ingredient. It is cooked slowly for hours and, of course, is eaten specially during winter.

First you have the soup, which is unsurpassable. Afterwards you will get a dish with the vegetables (usually green beas, carrots, turnip, onions,cabbage and the chickpeas). Another one with the meat (shin, chorizo -pork sausage-, morcilla -black pudding-, and ham). There are some restaurants in Madrid specialized in this dish and some offer special prizes to the clientes if they are able to finish the dish.

Well known are the following restaurants:

Lhardy (Carrera de San Jerónimo, 8), La Bola (Guillermo Rolland, 1), Casa Carola (Padilla, 54), Malacatín (Ruda, 5).
At almost all restaurants however there is one weekday dedicated to the Cocido.