Cocido Madrileño

Cocido madrileño is chickpeas simmered for hours with beef, chicken and chorizo until the broth turns golden, then served in three separate courses. It's Madrid's Sunday stew, a whole afternoon built around one pot, and a dish that takes as long to eat properly as it does to cook.

What it actually is

Dried chickpeas, soaked overnight, simmer for hours with beef shin, chicken, a piece of chorizo and often morcilla and a ham bone, along with cabbage, carrot and potato added later so nothing overcooks. The broth that results is strained off first and used for a simple noodle soup; the chickpeas and vegetables come next; and the meats are carved and plated last — three courses (the vuelta) from a single pot, eaten in strict order.

Splitting one stew into three courses isn't a garnish choice, it's the entire structure of the meal, and skipping a course misses the point of what cocido actually is.

How it's served

• In three separate courses: broth first, chickpeas and vegetables second, the carved meats last.
• With the meats sliced and arranged, chorizo, morcilla, beef and chicken laid out together.
• On its own occasion, usually a leisurely Sunday lunch, not a quick weekday meal.

Writing it on a menu

• Note the cured meats (chorizo, morcilla) and their curing salts, since they're standard in the pot, not a substitution.
• Explain the three-course structure clearly if you serve it that way; a guest expecting one plate will be confused by broth arriving first.
• Say if you serve a simplified one-plate version, since many restaurants combine the courses for speed, and it's worth being upfront that it isn't the full ritual.
• Flag that it's a long, occasion-sized dish; portion and pacing should reflect an afternoon meal, not a quick lunch.