The food that I tried is called Cocido Madrileño (literally, "Cooked Madrid"). It's a traditional chickpea stew from Madrid that's eaten in the wintertime.
I was so excited to try this dish! I don't eat meat, so I had a vegan version at a local vegan tavern. I was a little worried about trying things that were outside of my comfort zone (like vegan blood sausage!), but I was excited to try something new. I was surprised to find how tender all the ingredients are. My favorite part was the cabbage, which tasted pickled--kind of like kimchi or sauerkraut.
Cocido Madrileño is kind of a deconstructed stew--vegetables like chickpeas, potatoes, carrots and cabbage and meats like pork belly, blood sausage and chicken are boiled in stages. Once everything is cooked, it's served in piles based on ingredients with a separate bowl of broth to dip it in.
This food was originally a food for poorer people because the ingredients are usually inexpensive. But now, it's popular in restaurants and at home with people of all economic classes. Everything in the stew is grown locally in Madrid, so it's a very sustainable dish.
