The typical gastronomy of Madrid is made up of dishes composed mainly of fresh regional products such as vegetables or meat for spoon dishes, stews or fried foods. We must also highlight the importance of tapas in its bars, since gastronomy is one of the great attractions of Madrid.
Among the many recipes or traditional food, we show you the most typical Madrid dishes that you have to try if you visit Madrid, both the capital and one of its towns.
Madrid stew
The Madrid stew is the most typical and well-known dish in Madrid. As usually happens with traditional food, each one has its own peculiar way of cooking it, although the base is always the same. For its preparation, various meats are put in a pot, with cold water that covers the content, such as veal shank and brisket, hen or chicken, fresh bacon, black pudding and chorizo, as well as different ham bones, veal knee, salty spine and white cane. Subsequently, abundant vegetables are added to the pot. Once everything is cooked, the broth is separated, which is put on the fire adding a handful of noodles when it boils. The dish is served in three parts, starting with the broth with noodles, after which the chickpeas and vegetables are served and finally, the meats.
Madrid-style tripe
Tripe is also one of the dishes most linked to Madrid gastronomy. The elaboration of this typical Madrid recipe differs from that of other corners of Spain. Thus, its main difference with respect to, for example, Galician tripe is that cooked chickpeas are included in the latter. Madrid-style tripe is made by cooking various offal meats, generally tripe, leg and snout, also adding bacon or ham, spices and bay leaf to the pot. An hour before the end of cooking, chorizo and black pudding are added. For the tripe to have its characteristic spiciness, a sauce is made with garlic, onion and chilli. Once this sauce is finished, add the tripe and the black pudding and chorizo, the latter chopped. Then add the cooking water and boil everything for 20 more minutes.
Fried eggs
One of the typical Madrid dishes and the easiest to make are fried eggs. For its preparation, potatoes are fried and, once fried, they are removed and drained, also removing the oil. In the same frying pan, add the potatoes again and then add the eggs and pieces of ham, stirring until set. The ham can be replaced by any other product that we like, such as chorizo, mushrooms or asparagus.
Calamari sandwich
The calamari sandwich is a very emblematic meal of Madrid, and it is rare to find a bar where it is not served. It is simply a sandwich whose content is Roman squid. Drinking one of them, accompanied by a beer, is one of the many small pleasures that can be experienced in the capital of Madrid.
Garlic soup
Garlic soup is one of the most traditional dishes of Madrid and Castilian gastronomy. It is a soup with very simple ingredients, as it is prepared with sliced garlic, which is sautéed in a pan with oil until golden brown, adding pieces of ham at this time. Once stirred, add a few slices of hard bread, which is given a few turns. Once the casserole has been removed from the heat, sprinkle with paprika, which can be sweet or spicy, according to everyone’s taste.