Cocido montañés
A hearty Cantabrian bean stew from the 17th century.
Cocido montañés, also called Mountain stew or Cantabrian stew, is a dense, warming bean stew from the Cantabria region of northern Spain. It dates to the 1600s and was created to combat the damp, chilly weather of the Cantabrian Mountains. Because of this, it is typically eaten in winter and served as the main course at the day’s largest meal, lunch. The dish is high in calories and heavy, relying on pork preserved from the autumn pig slaughter. Its vegetable base consists of dried large white beans (soaked overnight) and collard greens, though some versions swap in local red beans called *caricu montañés* or replace collards with cabbage. The meat components, collectively known as *compangu*, come from the pig: bacon, pork ribs, blood sausage, and chorizo.
Quick Facts
- Place Of Origin
- Spain
- Region
- Cantabria
- Course
- Main course
- Served
- Hot
- Main Ingredient
- White beans, collard greens, pork
- Variations
- Cocido lebaniego, fabada asturiana, olla podrida, cassoulet
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Cocido montañés was developed in the 17th century in the Cantabrian Mountains of northern Spain. It was designed as a warm and heavy dish to combat the cold and wet climate of the region. For that reason it is most commonly eaten during winter and at the largest meal of the day, lunch.
Reader's Guide
The stew is made with two vegetable ingredients: dried large white beans (alubia blanca, soaked overnight before use) and collard greens (berza). Some recipes use local red bean caricu montañés instead of white beans or cabbage instead of hard-to-find collard greens. The rest of the elements are known as compangu, referring to meat ingredients from the pig slaughter: bacon (tocino), pork ribs (costilla), blood sausage (morcilla), and sausage (chorizo). The pig is killed during the autumn and preserved to be used during winter. As it is a heavy, high-calorie meal, it is served as a main course. The dish is related to other bean-based stews such as cassoulet, cocido lebaniego, cocido madrileño, cozido à portuguesa, fabada asturiana, feijoada, baked beans, olla podrida, and pork and beans, all listed in its 'See also' section.
Did You Know?
- Cocido montañés is originally from Cantabria in northern Spain.
- Its origin is the 17th century.
- The meat ingredients are known as compangu and come from the pig slaughter.
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