SLOW COOKING, FAST

 

Potaje is a slow-cooked Spanish dish, not exactly a soup nor a stew, containing legumes and vegetables, often with sausage or other cured meats. Potaje is different from cocido, another one-pot meal with legumes, because with potaje the broth is not separated to serve as a first course. This version of potaje, using canned chickpeas, is quick to prepare.

Icy winds from snowy northern Spain are whipping across the south. Winter is here, ahead of schedule (ski stations are open). I’ve pulled out the woolen sweaters and I want, right now, a big pot of soup, a potaje, the Andalusian comida de cuchara—spoon food—chock full of vegetables, legumes, and sausage. 

But with high electricity costs, I balk at slow-cooking the soup pot for a couple of hours! My alternative, a shortcut to potaje, is every bit as heart-warming as the original.  

Chickpeas and other dried legumes take one to two hours to cook from scratch. Using a jar or can of cooked chickpeas and thinly sliced cutlets of pork in place of chunks of pork or beef shin that need long cooking, I have my potaje ready to eat in 35 minutes. 

While I’ll make no excuses for cutting corners—I wanted hot soup now—in actuality I didn’t save money with the potaje-express. 

• The jar of chickpeas (570 grams/2 cups) cost €1.27. The electricity for 30 minutes using 2000- watt induction cooking (lowest afternoon rate* was €0.13/kWh) cost €0.065. Total for chickpeas and energy: €1.33. The soup was ready for lunch.

• 250 grams dried chickpeas to make 2 cups cooked cost €0.55. The electricity for 2 hours (€0.13/kWh) cost €0.26. Total chickpeas and energy for slow-cooked potaje €0.81. The soup was ready for the next day's lunch. (If I cook  a large quantity of chickpeas at the same time and freeze them in 2-cup portions, I save on the next potaje.) 

Thinly sliced pork cutlets cook quickly. Pork chops could be used instead of cutlets; after cooking, cut the meat off the bones. Spareribs cut into 2-inch chunks, a turkey leg or two, chicken thighs are other possibilities. For a vegetarian potaje—even faster—omit meat and sausages and increase olive oil to ¼ cup. 

Likewise with vegetables, swap out the ones you have available. If made with chard stems and chunks of pumpkin, the potaje is known as berza. The nomenclature has always confused me because “berza” actually means “cabbage” but it doesn’t contain cabbage. The soup that has cabbage isn’t berza but potaje de coles. Which, by the way, is excellent with kale instead of cabbage. Beans or lentils can be substituted for chickpeas. 

If you want a thicker, creamier soup, shortly before serving, puree some of the chickpeas and potatoes in a blender and stir the slurry back into the pot. Some versions of potaje include a whole onion, green pepper, and tomato. At the end of cooking time, they are skimmed out, pureed, and returned to the pot. Sometimes a sofrito of onion, garlic, and tomato fried in olive oil is added.

A heart-warming meal-in-a-pot, chock full of legumes, vegetables, pieces of meat, and sausage.

Andalusian Vegetable Soup with Chickpeas and Sausage

Potaje Andaluz 

Potaje is done when cabbage and carrots are cooked.

Serves 6.

8-10 cups water

1 tablespoon salt + more if needed

8 ounces pork shoulder cutlets

1 ½ ounce tocino (salt pork), pancetta, or bacon

4-5 whole, peeled carrots

1 small onion

2 cloves

1 stalk celery

1 bay leaf

8 ounces chorizo sausage

2 cups cooked and drained chickpeas (1-pound jar)

2 potatoes (14 ounces), peeled and quartered

18-24 ounces chopped cabbage (about ¼ of head)

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

½ teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon sweet pimentón de la Vera (smoked paprika)

8 ounces morcilla sausage

Sprigs of mint to serve

Bring pot of water with 1 tablespoon of salt to a boil. Add the pork cutlets, tocino, carrots, onion stuck with cloves, celery, and bay leaf to the pot. Lower heat to medium and cook 10 minutes. 

Add the chorizo, chickpeas, potatoes, and cabbage. In a small bowl combine the oil with the pepper, cumin, and pimentón. Stir in some of the water from the pot to mix. Stir the spices into the pot. Cook 10 minutes longer. Pierce the morcillas in several places with a skewer (to prevent steam from building up and causing the sausages to burst) and add them to the pot.  Raise the heat to a boil, then lower heat and cook until cabbage and potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes more. Skim the meat, tocino, sausages, carrots, and potatoes out of the potaje. Use kitchen scissors to cut them into bite-size chunks. Return them to the pot. Discard bay leaf, onion and cloves, and celery. Let the soup settle 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with sprigs of mint.

*More about saving on the electric bill  What to Cook When the Electric Bill Soars . Interestingly, since I wrote that in 2021, the most economical rates in Spain now are usually from 2 to 3 in the afternoon, instead of in the middle of the night. That's because more and more of Spain's power is generated by solar.

More versions of potaje, both slow and fast.

Andalusian Vegetable Pot (Berza)

"Gypsy Pot" (Murcia Potaje)

Canary Islands Vegetable Pot 

Lenten Stew with Salt Cod and Chickpeas 

Pottage with Kale and Beans 

Cuttlefish and Chickpea Stew

Shrimp with Chickpeas and Seafood Sausage

FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS 

The Culinary Legacy of Spain

Here's the ideal gift for the cooks in your life--FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS, The Culinary Legacy of Spain. This is a fresh angle on the traditional cooking of Spain, with 120 recipes that can trace their roots to Moorish Spain. See below for where to order. 

This cookbook explores the fascinating story of the deep and lasting influences that Islamic culture has left on modern Spanish cooking. 

Author and Spanish cooking expert Janet Mendel tells the story of the Moorish influence on Spanish cooking through 120 recipes and photographs for modern-day dishes, from salads and vegetables to fish, poultry and meat to sweets and pastries, that trace their heritage to foods served in medieval times. Dishes from this era include exotic spices such as saffron, the use of fruits and almonds with savory dishes, and honeyed sweets and pastries. The flavors of al-Andalus live on in modern Spanish cooking and are what makes Spain’s cuisine distinctive from the rest of Europe. (Hippocrene Books)    

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Use PROMO CODE HIPPOCRENE40 for 40% off on all Hippocrene titles at IndiePubs online bookstore.

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BEST-EVER VEGETARIAN TAPA!

Succulent ibérico ham. Sizzling, garlicky shrimp. Potato salad with chunks of tuna. Rings of crisp-fried calamares (squid). The possibilities at a typical tapas bar are enough to make a vegetarian weep in frustration. What to eat that doesn’t have meat, poultry or seafood? There’s always the fabulous tortilla de patatas made with eggs and potatoes (unless you are vegan and don’t eat eggs). Maybe a few salads and not much else. 

In Sevilla tapa bars you’ll find a traditional tapa that’s vegetarian—vegan even—and truly satisfying. Espinacas con garbanzos, or garbanzos con espinacas—spinach with chickpeas or chickpeas with spinach. While it’s popular year-round, the dish really comes into its own at this time of year, during Lent, when observant Catholics don’t eat meat on Fridays. Then it’s served as a starter or main dish for a comida de vigilia or fasting day meal.

A vegetarian dish of chickpeas and spinach, typical of Sevilla tapa bars.

Tapa-size servings in small cazuelitas with fried bread to accompany.

A main dish serving might be topped with hard-cooked egg.

Olive oil, plenty of garlic, pimentón (paprika) and cumin flavor the combo of vegetable and legumes. If you don’t like the assertive flavor of cumin (it will remind you of Moroccan and Mexican food), reduce the quantity. If you want the dish even spicier, try using especia para pinchitos, a spice blend for brochettes that includes cumin as well as coriander, ginger and cayenne.

I cooked a big pot of chickpeas (1 pound) and used some in this recipe and put the rest in the freezer. You’ll need about 10 ounces dry chickpeas to make 4 cups drained, cooked chickpeas. Soak the chickpeas in water overnight (8 hours). Drain and cover them with hot water. Add salt, sliced onion, bay leaf and a whole tomato. Cook until the chickpeas are tender, about 90 minutes. Save the cooking liquid to use in the recipe. Add the cooked and skinned tomato to the bread and garlic in place of chopped tomato.

In an attempt to keep the fresh spinach bright green, I cooked it very briefly then plunged it in ice water before draining. I added the spinach to the chickpeas at the very end of cooking. This made for an attractive dish. However, when I reheated leftovers the next day, the spinach turned dark. Though, it was just as delicious!

As served at bar El Rinconcillo in Sevilla, the dish has more spinach than chickpeas. Spinach slow-simmered with the spices loses its fresh green color.

In Sevilla tapa bars, the dish is usually made with lots of spinach and few chickpeas. But it is just as authentic the other way around, which is how I decided to make it. It’s not a soup. Add enough liquid to the chickpeas to keep everything juicy, but not soupy. If you’re cooking chickpeas from scratch, use the cooking liquid. If you’re using canned chickpeas, use water.

The pimentón (paprika) is ordinary sweet pimentón, but a smidgin of smoked pimentón in addition adds a nice background flavor. Hot pimentón or cayenne is optional.

Fried bread for thickening the sauce and to serve as an accompaniment to the finished dish.

A few slices of fried bread go into the blender to thicken the chickpea liquid. If you want to serve fried bread with the dish, fry more slices at the same time.

This is the lechoso variety of chickpea, generally used in Andalusia. It is plumper than the castellano varieties.

Spinach with Chickpeas
Espinacas con Garbanzos

Serves 4.

6 cups packed fresh spinach (about ½ pound, to make 1 ½ cups cooked, drained and chopped)
Ice water
5 tablespoons olive oil
3 slices baguette, crusts removed
4 cloves garlic
Chickpea cooking liquid or water
1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon pimentón (paprika)
1/8 teaspoon hot pimentón (optional)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 plum tomato, peeled and chopped, or cooked tomato from chickpeas
4 cups cooked and drained chickpeas.
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
Hard-cooked egg, quartered (optional)

Fried bread to serve (optional)

Chop spinach after blanching in boiling water.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Have ready a bowl with ice and water. Add the spinach to the boiling water and cook 1 minute. Skim it out and into the ice water. When spinach is cooled, drain it well and squeeze out excess water. Chop the spinach and reserve.

Heat the oil in a deep skillet or pan. Fry the slices of bread until golden-brown on both sides. Remove. Add the peeled garlic to the pan and fry until golden. Remove. 

Break up the fried bread into a blender container. Add the garlic and ¼ cup of cooking liquid or water. Add the vinegar, pimentón, hot pimentón, if using, cumin and tomato. Blend to make a smooth paste. 

Stir the bread-garlic paste into the oil remaining in the pan and fry it for a minute. Add the chickpeas and about 1 ½ cups of the chickpea cooking water. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. 

Immediately before serving, stir in the chopped spinach. Heat thoroughly. Serve the chickpeas and spinach in bowls with quartered egg, if desired.

Chickpeas and spinach are saucy, not soupy.

Leftovers the next day: I added more liquid to make a soup and garnished with a dollop of Greek yogurt, chopped green onions and chopped cilantro. 

More vegetarian dishes:

Empanadillas with Spinach.

Spinach Timbale.

Eggs Baked in Spinach Nests.

Lenten Fennel Soup with Beans.

Fideo Noodles with Tofu and Vegetables.

Best-Ever Veggie Burgers.

Baked Squash with Rice.

Millet and Carrot Pilaf.

Brown Rice Paella with Vegetables.

Savory Upside-Down Cake with Rice and Mushrooms.

Chard and Cheese Pie.

Another recipe with chickpeas and spinach: Chickpeas and Spinach with Cod Dumplings.

COOKING UP A COCIDO, MADRID STYLE

It’s the month to enjoy cocido madrileño, a boiled dinner that may be the national dish of Spain. And, you thought it was paella or gazpacho! In fact, a meal-in-a-pot is enjoyed in every region of Spain. It’s a family meal, perfect for a weekend or a holiday when there’s time to cook, time to savor.

Through 31 of March, 37 restaurants in Madrid and the surrounding area are featuring the famous cocido in its many versions. For a list of the participating restaurants, go to http://www.rutadelcocidomadrileño.com/restaurantes-participan.php.

And, if you’d like to try this famous dish at home, here you have the recipe.

Cocido madrileño, a meal served in tres vuelcos--first the soup, then a platter of meats and chicken and another of vegetables and chickpeas.

First off, I didn’t grow up eating cocido. No abuela (grandmom) taught me the tricks. I don’t have any castizo roots at all. I learned to make Andalusian cocido/puchero 50 years ago from village cooks. But the madrileño version, I learned from restaurant tastings and Spanish cookbooks.

I’ve tried to give you a pretty authentic recipe—but I admit to taking some liberty with the hallowed recipe! I use whole-wheat bread for the relleno, the typical dumpling that accompanies cocido. I substitute kale for some of the cabbage. And, while I always use a chunk of serrano ham and bone for the inimitable flavor and aroma it lends to the soup, I have never really liked the texture of cooked serrano ham. But, no! I would never, ever, substitute cooked smoked ham. It just wouldn’t be cocido madrileño.

A cocido can be a one-pot meal, if you have a really big pot (olla or cacerola). You’ll have to pay close attention to cooking times, adding ingredients to the pot so that they’re all done at the same time. With experience, this is no big deal. But if, like me, you only make a full scale cocido once or twice a year, the chance of having underdone beef or disintegrating potatoes increases.

Serve the soup first with fideo noodles.

Then comes a heaping platter--beef, chicken, chorizo, pork belly, marrow bones, cooked ham, morcilla sausage, salt pork and relleno, fritters that are poached in the broth.

Stewed cabbage is dressed with sautéed garlic and pimentón. I've added some (non-traditional) kale, as well.

Chickpeas cooked with the meat and ham bone soak up lots of flavor. These are the castellano variety.

I opt to use three different pots. In the first one, the biggest, the chickpeas cook with the meats, bones and chicken. This produces the flavorful caldo, broth, that will be served as a first course. In the second pot, with an extra few pieces of meat bones, I cook the potatoes, turnips and carrots. In a third pan, I cook the chopped cabbage along with the chorizo and morcilla sausages. 

You have some choices to make. Do you want the caldo—soup—to be as pale as possible or somewhat ruddy-colored? If you want it pale, cook the red chorizos and black morcilla separately. Do you like morcilla (blood sausage)? If so, will you choose the muy castellano, morcilla de arroz, sausage with rice? Or the rustic morcilla de cebolla, sausage with onion? Each has its fans. (I like Andalusian onion morcilla.)

If you prefer cocido-“light”—with reduced fat—I suggest making it a day in advance. After straining the soup, chill it overnight. Then it’s easy to lift off the congealed fat and discard it. Keep the meats and vegetables covered with some of the remaining broth. Refrigerate them overnight too.
Before serving, heat the strained and defatted soup in one pot and cook the fideo noodles in it. Reheat the meat and vegetables in another pot.

Relleno--patties of bread crumbs are fried, then simmered.

The relleno, also called bola or pelota, is a cross between a dumpling and a fritter. Made of bread crumbs, sometimes with the addition of ham or minced meat, it is shaped into small patties, fried in olive oil, then simmered in the soup pot. In households where meat was scarce, the relleno was a way of extending the meal. Now it’s a cherished addition to cocido, especially liked by kids.

Stewing hen or boiling fowl adds a lot of flavor and doesn’t fall apart with long cooking. If using ordinary chicken, add it after the pot has been cooking for one hour.

Put the chickpeas to soak in warm water 8 hours before cooking the cocido. Add them to the pot when the water comes to a boil. If you have hard water, use filtered or bottled water to cook chickpeas. You won't use a whole pound for one meal, but cooked chickpeas have many uses.

Chickpeas cook in a mesh bag.

Spanish cooks use a malla, a mesh bag, to cook the chickpeas, so they can be easily removed.

Skim off the foam that rises as the water comes to a boil. Skim again after adding the chickpeas.

If using ham and salt pork, additional salt probably will not be needed. Taste the broth after 1 hour of cooking and add salt if necessary.

Allow 1 medium potato per person or use larger ones and cut them in half to serve.

The soup, with meat, chicken and chickpeas, will be done in about 2 ½ hours.

Cocido Madrileño
Madrid Style Boiled Dinner

Two kinds of sausage, serrano ham, pork belly, salt pork, ham bone, stewing hen, beef shin and marrow bones plus carrots, potatoes, turnips, cabbage and chickpeas--cocido is a whole meal in a pot.

Serves 6, with leftovers

1 pound chickpeas
Hot water
Salt
¾ pound boneless beef shin (morcillo)
Beef marrow bones (hueso de caña con tuétano)
2 ½ -inch chunk of serrano ham bone
4 ounces boneless serrano ham
 10 ounces fresh pork belly (panceta) or boneless ribs (costillas)
2 ounces salt pork
1 ¾ pounds stewing hen (gallina) or chicken
12 cups water plus additional for 2nd and 3rd pots
1 medium onion
2 cloves
1 leek
1 stalk celery
6 carrots, peeled
1-2 turnips, peeled
6 medium red boiling potatoes, peeled
Coarse salt

1 ½ pounds cabbage, chopped
3 links of chorizo (8 ounces)
6 ounces morcilla (blood sausage)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, sliced crosswise
1 teaspoon smoked pimentón (paprika)
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon water
For the soup:
8 ounces fideos (vermicelli soup noodles)
Chopped parsley, to serve

For the relleno:
2 ½ cups fresh bread crumbs
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
¼ cup chopped parsley
2 eggs
¼ cup milk or water
Salt (about ½ teaspoon)
Olive oil for frying
Pickled onions as a side
Pickled green chiles as a side
Tomato sauce, to serve

Day before cooking the cocido, put the chickpeas in a large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and enough hot water (not boiling) to cover them by three times their depth. Allow to soak overnight (8 hours). Drain the chickpeas and rinse them in warm tap water.

In a large soup pot, place the piece of beef, bones, ham, pork belly and salt pork. Add the stewing hen and 12 cups of water.  (If using chicken, add it after 1 hour of cooking.) 

Skim the foam from the broth.

Bring to a boil and skim off the foam that rises to the top.
Add the onion stuck with 2 cloves. Add leek, trimmed, and the stalk of celery.

Add chickpeas to the pot.

Add the chickpeas. Bring again to a boil and skim again.
Cover the pot and reduce the heat so the liquid bubbles gently. After 1 hour, stir the pot. Taste the broth and add salt if necessary. Cook until the chickpeas, beef and chicken are very tender, about 1 hour longer. 

Allow the pot to settle for 10 minutes. Skim off the fat that rises to the top. If you’ve cooked the chickpeas in a special bag, lift it out and reserve the chickpeas in a bowl. 

Place a strainer lined with cheesecloth or dampened kitchen towel over a clean pot. Ladle the soup into the strainer. Use approximately 8 cups to serve 6. Cool the soup, then refrigerate until the fat solidifies (overnight). Skim off the fat before finishing the soup.

In a second pan, cook the carrots, turnips and potatoes in some of the broth from the main pot or in salted water until they are tender, about 30 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to lift the vegetables out of the hot liquid immediately before serving. (If preparing the cocido a day in advance, the vegetables can be cooked and refrigerated until shortly before serving.)

In a third pan, cook the chopped cabbage in lightly salted water with the chorizo and morcilla until the cabbage is very tender, 30 minutes. While cabbage is cooking, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a small skillet and sauté the sliced garlic. Stir in the pimentón, vinegar and spoonful of water. Drain the cabbage. Place it in a serving bowl and pour over the garlic oil. 

Place the cooked chorizo and morcilla on a platter with the marrow bones, beef, pork, chicken and ham. Add the relleno.

On another platter, arrange the potatoes, carrots, turnip and leek. Drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt.

Place the chickpeas in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Skim off fat from the strained soup. Bring it to a boil and add the fideos (noodles). Cook until they are al dente, 5 minutes. 

Serve the soup as a first course. Serve the platter of meat and chicken, the platter of vegetables, the bowl of cabbage with garlic dressing and the bowl of chickpeas.

Serve pickled onions, pickled green chiles and tomato sauce on the side. 

For the relleno:

Mix breadcrumbs with garlic and parsley.

Combine the breadcrumbs, garlic and parsley. (Use a mini-processor to make the crumbs and to chop the garlic and parsley.) Beat the eggs with 1 tablespoon of water until they are foamy. Add to the breadcrumbs with milk and salt.

Form the mixture into 6-8 2-inch patties. Heat oil in a small skillet and fry the patties until they are browned on both sides. Drain on absorbent paper.

Add the relleno to the pot with the meats and cook 15 minutes. Serve the relleno on the platter with the meats.

Serve the cocido with a red wine with denominación de origen Madrid.

ALONG THE SPOON-FOOD TRAIL

Prepare your spoons! Stew with chickpeas, chard and sausages.

Tuck your napkin under your chin and get your spoons at the ready because we’re off on the “spoon trail.” The comida de cuchara—a meal eaten with a spoon—is favorite fare in Spain, especially in blustery winter weather. In today’s high-powered world, even well-heeled businessmen and politicos have a weakness for comforting bowls of spoon food—lentils like mamá used to make or abuela’s potaje.


So, when a visiting friend, Lars Kronmark, who is a chef-instructor of culinary arts at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Greystone in Napa Valley, California, said he wanted to taste some typical Spanish soups, I looked to village bar-restaurants for traditional dishes.

During January, February and March, every Friday and Saturday in my town, Mijas Pueblo, a dozen bars are participating in the Ruta del Cuchareo, or “route of the spoon,” offering a cazuelita (earthenware ramekin) of soup or stew plus a glass of wine for just €2 (about $2.70).

We weren’t going from bar to bar, so I chose one, El Refugio (www.barelrefugio.es), for a spoon-food tasting menu for six persons. We had several salads and tapas as starters, then sampled three different soups/stews.

Lars serves a bowl of berza.

 Are they soups or stews? I had trouble deciding what to call them when I was writing recipes for my cookbooks. Most have either legumes, such as chickpeas or beans, or rice. Some are really soupy, others fairly thick. In Spanish, the word potaje covers this category nicely. But “pottage” in English doesn’t sound so enticing. 

Soupy rice and seafood.

Cazuela de arroz—rice with chicken, fish and shrimp—is sort of a “paella soup.” Carlos Boeta, owner of the Bar El Refugio, told us that making a flavorful fondo, or stock, is the most important part. My recipe for cazuela de arroz makes a rice dish not so soupy as the one shown here.

Because this week is the día de San Antón, the festival of St. Anthony Abbot, patron of pigs and other animals, we had to sample the typical feast-day food, potaje de callos, chickpeas, pig tripe, trotter and sausages. That recipe as well as some photos of the fiesta, when locals bring their pets to be blessed by the priest, is here .

Chickpeas, pig tripe and sausages for San Antón day.

And, possibly my favorite soup/stew of all—berza de acelga, an Andalusian vegetable stew chock full of chickpeas, meat, sausages, chard and other vegetables. The version served at El Refugio, made by the cook, Rocio, is soupier than my version, pictured at the top. I wrote about berza on an earlier blog post http://mykitcheninspain.blogspot.com.es/2011/03/carnaval-pre-lenten-pig-out.html. Here is that recipe.

Berza, with chickpeas and chard, at Bar El Refugio, Mijas.

Andalusian Vegetable Stew
Berza Andaluza


Morcilla, blood sausage, and chorizo punch up the flavor in this vegetable stew. If you don’t have morcilla, add a pinch of clove, a spoonful of pimentón (paprika) and crushed garlic to the vegetable pot.

Serves 6.

½  pound chickpeas, soaked overnight
¾  pound beef shin or pork shoulder
½  pound meaty pork spareribs, cut crosswise into short lengths
Small piece of ham bone (optional)
2 ounces pancetta
1-pound bunch of chard
1 carrot, chopped
1 pound pumpkin or winter squash, peeled and cut in chunks
6 ounces morcilla (blood) sausage
6 ounces chorizo
5 peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound potatoes, peeled and cut in 1-inch chunks

Drain the chickpeas. Put them in a large soup pot with 8 cups of hot water. Bring to a boil and skim off froth. Add the beef, pork rib and ham bone, if using. When water boils, skim again.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Chop the chard. Add to the pot with the carrot and pumpkin. Prick the morcilla several times with a skewer (so it doesn’t pop open when steam accumulates) and add it to the pot. Add the peppercorns and salt. Cover and simmer 20 minutes more.

Add the potatoes. Cook 20 minutes more. Remove several chunks of potatoes and pumpkin and mash them smooth. Stir the mash into the pot to thicken the broth.

Let the stew settle 10 minutes before serving. Cut beef, pork rib, and sausage into pieces. Serve the chickpeas, meats, vegetables and broth in shallow soup dishes.