This is a traditional recipe from Toledo, the old and famous city in Spain, very important place that once was the main city for  muslims, jews and christians, living all together.  It was too the Spain`s Capital during the reign of the Visigoths in Spain, which took place from mid-5th century until the beginning of the 8th century. It is a very easy recipe and very tasty.

INGREDIENTS:
500 grs. beef cut into cubes.
100 grs. peas.
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tomato, grated.
2 cloves of garlic, chopped.
50 grs. of Spanish chorizo cut into small cubes.
1/2 red pepper cut in two.
100 grs. Spanish Serrano ham cut into small cubes.
1 small glass of white wine.
Oregan


METHOD:
In a frying pan, put five spoons of olive oil. When is hot, fry the meat slightly and put aside in a pan.  Add some salt, carefully because the ham and chorizo will bring lot of salt to the stew.
In the same oil, fry the pepper. Put in the pan. Add to the frying pan chorizo and ham and turn four or five times.  Add the onion, tomato and garlic and low the heat.  Fry for a couple of minutes and add the wine.  Mix well and leave for a minute to evaporate the alcohol.  Now,  put everything into the saucepan and add the peas and water enough to cover the meat and a little  more.  Bring to the boil for 1 hour or so, until the meat is tender (the time will depend on the type of meat).  You have to control the water, it should be a sauce not too liquid.
Check the salt and one minute before serve, sprinkle a bit of oregano. 

The word "cocido" in Spanish means "boiled".  There are a lot of "boiled" recipes in Spain, but this is the only one to be called like that.  It is quite different in every part of Spain, changing the ingredients from the North to the South, even in every home !  Actually, this meal consists in two dishes:  everything is cooked at the same time, but then, the liquid part is separated and is cooked with some thin noodles, and is your first course; your second course is the rest of ingredients.   It seems to be a very long recipe, lots of ingredients, two different plates, etc, but you will see at the end how easy is it to cook this traditional and very popular Spanish meal. This is my version.

INGREDIENTS:

• 400 grs. of dried chickpeas.
• 2 - 3  potatoes peeled, whole.
• 200 grs. of green beans (fresh beans), cut into small pieces
• 2 celery stalks cut into small pieces.
• 2 carrots cut in pieces.
• 2 cloves of garlic, laminated.
• 200 grs. of beef in one piece.
• 2 chicken thighs in one piece each.
• 6 cms. of Spanish chorizo, cut into 2 or 3 pieces
• 2 chicken livers, whole (optional).
• 1 hardboiled egg (optional).
• 1/2 coffee spoon of Spanish saffron.
• 1 spoonful of Cúrcuma or Turmeric, for the color
• Fresh parsley or coriander.
• Noodles (about a handful per person).
  
  
  

METHOD:

First of all,  the night before put the chickpeas in a big bowl and cover with plenty of water. From a tin is OK (you don`t have to put the cheackpeas in water) reducing the time of cooking.


Next day, put the chickpeas, potatoes and vegetables in a big saucepan.  Then, the meat, chicken, chorizo and chicken livers.  Add curcuma to give a little color and salt to your taste.  Bring to the boil and remove the "foam" that will begin to rise to the surface.  Do this for a few minutes and add the garlic and the saffron.  Close the saucepan and boil until the chickpeas are tender.  Check from time to time  the liquid and add some more water if necessary.  It´ll take quite a long time to cook it in an ordinary saucepan, maybe more than one hour,  that´s why I recommend the pressure cooker; which would take 20 mins. If you use the chickpeas from a tin, reduce the time and the water. It would take then only about 30  mins. but the taste would`nt be the same.
Now, remove the "consome" to another saucepan and when it is boiling, add the noodles and chopped parsley.  Into each plate of "consome" add chopped chicken livers and some chopped egg.  When the noodles are cooked, serve this first dish.


The main plate will consist of chickpeas, potato, vegetables, chorizo and meat.  Add olive oil, ground pepper and lemon juice or vinegar to taste.
All this sounds very long, but in fact is very easy !

• 750 grs. mince meat 
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 1 cup of fresh breadcrumbs 
• 60 grs. pine nuts (piñones)
• 100 grs. mushrooms, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped 
• 1 big tomato, grated 
• 1 glass of white wine 
• 100 grs. peas 
• 3 cloves of garlic, grated 
• salt, pepper, cinnamon, parsley

SPANISH PAELLA DE VERDURAS (SUITABLE FOR VEGETARIANS AND VEGANS)

• 1 big red pepper, cut into four.
• 1 big tomato, grated.
• 2 artichokes, each cut into four.
• 100 grs. of green beans fresh.
• 200 grs. of cauliflower,cut into not very small sprigs
• 2 cloves of garlic cut into slices.
• Fresh parsley or coriander.
• 1/2 teaspoon of Spanish saffron.
• 1 glass of rice
• A pinch of turmeric
• 4-5 spoons of olive oil
• 50 grs. of peas