AI-generated image
Puchero
Boiled beef and vegetable stew
Puchero: boiled beef with chickpeas, corn, squash, potato and cabbage, the broth served first
Winter Sundays in the towns of Buenos Aires Province mean a big pot of puchero bubbling from mid-morning: beef shin and brisket on the bone, a marrow bone, chickpeas, corn on the cob, squash, sweet potato, potato, carrots and cabbage, all simmered together. The meal comes in two courses, as in the Spanish cocido it descends from: first the golden broth, often with fine noodles or rice, then a platter of meat and vegetables doused with olive oil, salt and a spoon of salsa criolla. It is gentle and clean-tasting rather than rich. Many families add chorizo colorado or pancetta (pork); this version keeps to beef. Plan for the chickpeas to soak overnight. Boiling it hard is the classic mistake, which clouds the broth and toughens the meat; it should barely shiver. Chef's tip: add the vegetables in stages, longest-cooking first, so the cabbage and squash hold their shape instead of dissolving.
- Total time
- 190 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the meat
- 7 oz dried chickpeassoaked overnight
- 2 ¼ lb beef shin on the boneosso buco cut
- 1 ⅓ lb beef brisketin one piece
- 1 beef marrow boneabout 300 g
- 1 onionhalved
- 2 tsp salt
For the vegetables
- 3 carrotshalved
- 1 leekcut into 5 cm lengths
- 4 potatoesmedium, peeled and halved
- 2 sweet potatoespeeled and cut into large chunks
- 3 corn on the cobhalved
- 1 ⅓ lb squashbutternut or calabaza, in large wedges
- ½ white cabbagecut into wedges
To serve
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 3 ½ oz long-grain rice (optional)cooked in some of the broth; or fine noodles, which are not gluten-free
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (11)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Put 2 ¼ lb beef shin on the bone, 1 ⅓ lb beef brisket and 1 beef marrow bone in a very large pot with 5 litres of cold water and bring slowly to the boil over a medium heat. Skim off the grey foam as it rises.
20 minStep 2: Add the drained 7 oz dried chickpeas, 1 onion, 2 bay leaves and 2 tsp salt. Turn the heat right down and simmer, barely bubbling and partly covered, for 1½ hours, until the chickpeas are almost tender.
90 minStep 3: Add 3 carrots, 1 leek, 4 potatoes and 2 sweet potatoes and simmer for 15 minutes.
15 minStep 4: Add 3 corn on the cob, 1 ⅓ lb squash and ½ white cabbage and simmer for 20–25 minutes more, until everything is tender and the beef pulls apart easily with a fork.
25 minStep 5: Ladle out the broth and serve it first in cups or bowls, with 3 ½ oz long-grain rice if you like.
Step 6: Lift the meat and vegetables onto a large warm platter, drizzle with 4 tbsp olive oil and serve as the main course.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 640 kcal
- Protein
- 52 g
- Carbs
- 52 g
- Fat
- 25 g
- Fibre
- 11 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does puchero take?
- About 190 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 165 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of dried chickpeas?
- Cannellini or butter beans, same amount.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Tiyula itumBlack beef soup
Tiyula itum, 'black soup', is the pride of the Tausug people of Sulu in the far south of the Philippines, cooked for weddings, Eid celebrations and when guests come home. Beef (it is a halal, pork-free dish) is simmered with ginger, lemongrass and turmeric, then darkened with pamapa itum, a paste of grated coconut toasted until almost black and pounded with spices. The broth looks dramatic but tastes smoky, earthy and gently peppery, with heat from chillies. Serve it with plain rice. Chef's tip: toast the coconut slowly, stirring all the time, until it is very dark brown but not ashy; burnt-to-ash coconut tastes bitter and ruins the soup.
Filipino
Ful nabitSprouted fava bean soup
Sprouted beans are ladled out with their cooking liquor in Cairo homes when the weather turns cold or someone is feeling run down, and Egyptians swear by the broth as a pick-me-up. The beans are soaked and left to sprout for a few days, then simmered with onion, garlic and cumin into a light, earthy soup that is sharpened at the table with plenty of lemon. You can eat the beans with a spoon or pop them from their skins. Allow 3 to 4 days for sprouting, although the hands-on work is only about 20 minutes. People with G6PD deficiency (favism) must not eat fava beans. Chef's tip: stop the sprouting when the shoots are about 1 cm long; longer sprouts taste grassy and bitter.
Egyptian
BabboucheSpiced snail broth
After dark in Marrakech's great square, the babbouche stalls are recognisable by their steaming cauldrons and the toothpicks laid out by every bowl. Small land snails simmer in a dark broth of liquorice root, aniseed, thyme, caraway, bitter orange peel, chilli and a bundle of herbs that sellers say has fifteen ingredients, believed to soothe the stomach and warm you on a cold night. You pick the snails out with a toothpick, then drink the peppery, herbal, faintly sweet broth. At home, buy live snails sold for cooking, already purged by a reputable seller, discard any with broken shells or that do not move or retract when touched, and cook them through for at least 45 minutes. Chef's tip: keep the spices in a muslin bag; the broth stays clear and you avoid crunching on seeds.
Moroccan