Puchero is a type of

stew A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been Cooking, cooked in Soup, liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients can include any combination of vegetables and may include meat, especially tougher meats suitable for ...

originally from Spain, prepared in Yucatán, Mexico, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Perú, south of Brazil, the Philippines, and Spain, specifically the

autonomous communities The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Spa ...

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

and the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

. The Spanish word "''puchero''" originally meant an earthenware pot, before being extended to mean any vessel, and then the dish cooked in it. The dish is essentially equivalent to the ''

cocido () or ''cozido'' () is a traditional stew eaten as a main dish in Spain, Portugal, Brazil and other Hispanophone and Lusophone countries. Etymology In Spanish, ''cocido'' is the past participle of the verb ''cocer'' ("to boil"), s ...

'' of Spain but lacks colorants (such as paprika) and uses local ingredients which vary from one region to another. In Spain,

chickpeas The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae, cultivated for its edible seeds. Its different types are variously known as gram," Bengal gram, garbanzo, garbanzo bean, or Egypt ...

are widely used. Puchero, cocido, and the

sancocho Sancocho (from the Spanish verb ''sancochar'', "to parboil") is a traditional stew in several Caribbean and Latin American cuisines. Latin variations represent popular national dishes in Dominican Republic, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Mexico, Pana ...

eaten in Colombia, Ecuador, República Dominicana, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico are essentially similar dishes.

Andalusian puchero

In Andalusia, ''puchero'' was originally a peasant soup. The basic ingredients of the broth are meat (

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

veal Veal is the meat of Calf (animal), calves, in contrast to the beef from older cattle. Veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any List of cattle breeds, breed; however, most veal comes from young male calves of Dairy cattle, dairy b ...

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

bacon Bacon is a type of Curing (food preservation), salt-cured pork made from various cuts of meat, cuts, typically the pork belly, belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central in ...

, cured bones (such as those of the

jamón serrano ''Jamón'' (; : ''jamones'') is a type of dry-cured ham produced in Spain. It is one of the most globally recognized food items of Spanish cuisine. It is also regularly a component of tapas. ''Jamón'' is the Spanish word for ' ham'. As such ...

), and vegetables (

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

es,

celery Celery (''Apium graveolens'' Dulce Group or ''Apium graveolens'' var. ''dulce'') is a cultivated plant belonging to the species ''Apium graveolens'' in the family Apiaceae that has been used as a vegetable since ancient times. The original wild ...

chard Chard (; '' Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''vulgaris'', Cicla Group and Flavescens Group) is a green leafy vegetable. In the cultivars of the Flavescens Group, or Swiss chard, the leaf stalks are large and often prepared separately from the leaf b ...

leek A leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of Leaf sheath, leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a "s ...

carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in colour, though heirloom variants including purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild ...

s, and

turnip The turnip or white turnip ('' Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. Small, tender varieties are grown for human consumption, while larger varieties a ...

s). It can be drunk straight in mugs as a

consommé In cooking, a consommé is a type of clear soup made from richly flavoured stock or broth that has been clarified, a process that uses egg whites to remove fat and sediment. Consommé has three English pronunciations: traditionally in the UK ...

known as ''caldo de puchero'', which can be seasoned with fresh

spearmint Spearmint (''Mentha spicata''), also known as garden mint, common mint, lamb mint and mackerel mint, is native to Europe and southern temperate Asia, extending from Ireland in the west to southern China in the east. It is naturalized in many othe ...

leaves or

sherry Sherry ( ) is a fortified wine produced from white grapes grown around the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is a drink produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versio ...

. Alternatively, it can be prepared as a soup after adding

cured ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term ''ha ...

boiled egg Boiled eggs are typically from a chicken, and are cooked with their shells unbroken, usually by immersion in boiling water. Hard-boiled or hard-cooked eggs are cooked so that the egg white and egg yolk both solidify, while soft-boiled eggs may l ...

, and

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

noodle Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures and made into a variety of shapes. The most common noo ...

s or

bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

. The meats, called ''

pringá Pringá is a Spanish dish popular in Andalusia, which consists of roast beef or pork, cured sausages such as chorizo and morcilla, and beef or pork fat slow-cooked for many hours until the meat falls apart easily. Pieces of crusty bread are us ...

'', are usually served separately as a main dish, and the remnants used for subsequent dishes as

croquette A croquette (; ) is a deep-fried roll originating in French cuisine, consisting of a thick binder combined with a filling, which is then breaded. It is served as a side dish, a snack, or fast food worldwide. The binder is typically a thick b� ...

s or ''

ropa vieja Ropa vieja (, ; ) is a dish with regional variations in Spain, Latin America and the Philippines. It normally includes some form of stewed beef and tomatoes with a sofrito base.

''.

Río de la Plata puchero

Puchero is eaten in the parts of Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay that border the Río de la Plata. The dish is prepared in the same way as in Spain, though its ingredients differ according to the very different local produce. In the parts of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay surrounding the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

of the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (; ), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...

, puchero is primarily beef-based—beef was plentiful and cheap—and chickpeas are less commonly used than in the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

. The broth and the solid ingredients are often consumed separately. The cuts of meat used are particularly important: if possible, ''

ossobuco Ossobuco or osso buco (; ), also known as ''ossobuco alla milanese'', is a specialty of Lombard cuisine of cross-cut veal Shank (meat), shanks braised with vegetables, white wine, and broth. It is often garnished with and traditionally serve ...

''; otherwise beef cuts with marrow or poultry (used in ''puchero de gallina'') can be substituted. Other ingredients used may include potatoes,

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...

s, and

squash Squash most often refers to: * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (plant), the fruit of vines of the genus ''Cucurbita'' Squash may also refer to: Sports * Squash (professional wrestling), an extr ...

. Typical local produce used includes

sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its sizeable, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable, which is a staple food in parts of ...

es, moderately fatty pork cuts,

sweet corn Sweet corn (''Zea mays'' convar. ''saccharata'' var. ''rugosa''), also called sweetcorn, sugar corn and pole corn, is a variety of maize grown for human consumption with a high sugar content. Sweet corn is the result of a naturally occurring rec ...

, carrots,

pork belly Pork belly or belly pork is a boneless, fatty Primal cut, cut of pork from the Abdomen, belly of a pig. Pork belly is particularly popular in American cuisine, American, British cuisine, British, Swedish cuisine, Swedish, Danish cuisine, Danish, ...

or cabbage. Puchero is traditionally served during the colder months. It is not considered fine dining, and can be found on menus in family and regional restaurants throughout Argentina, but not at most more expensive restaurants.

Philippine puchero

Philippine cuisine Filipino cuisine is composed of the cuisines of more than a hundred distinct Ethnic groups in the Philippines, ethnolinguistic groups found throughout the Philippines, Philippine archipelago. A majority of mainstream Filipino dishes that comp ...

, puchero (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''Pochero'';

Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Tagal ...

: ''putsero'') is a dish composed of beef chunks stewed with ''saba'' bananas (or plantains). The dish may also include potatoes or sweet potatoes, '' chorizos de Bilbao'', ''

bok choy Bok choy (American English, Canadian English, and Australian English), pak choi (British English, South African English, and Caribbean English) or pok choi is a type of Chinese cabbage ('' Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''chinensis'') cultivated as a le ...

'', leeks, chickpeas, cabbage and tomato sauce. Other versions replace beef with chicken or pork. Chicken Pochero is a "

One-Pot In chemistry a one-pot synthesis is a strategy to improve the efficiency of a chemical reaction in which a reactant is subjected to successive chemical reactions in just one reactor. This is much desired by chemists because avoiding a lengthy ...

Meal." It is cooked with combination of minced red onion and cloves garlic, diced large tomatoes, sweet potatoes and chicken, sliced

chorizo de Bilbao Chorizo de Bilbao, also known as Chorizo Bilbao, is a type of Philippine pork and beef dry sausage. It was originally produced by Spanish Filipino Vicente Genato of the Genato Commercial Corporation in Manila and the name is a genericized trade ...

and

, tomato sauce, water,

seasoning Seasoning is the process of supplementing food via herbs, spices, and/or salts, intended to enhance a particular flavour. General meaning Seasonings include herbs and spices, which are themselves frequently referred to as "seasonings". Salt may ...

, ground black pepper, halved cabbage,

green bean Green beans are young, unripe fruits of various cultivars of the common bean ('' Phaseolus vulgaris''), although immature or young pods of the runner bean ('' Phaseolus coccineus''), yardlong bean ( ''Vigna unguiculata'' subsp. ''sesquipedali ...

, green

pea Pea (''pisum'' in Latin) is a pulse or fodder crop, but the word often refers to the seed or sometimes the pod of this flowering plant species. Peas are eaten as a vegetable. Carl Linnaeus gave the species the scientific name ''Pisum sativum' ...

s, soy sauce and

patís ''Bagoóng'' (; ) is a Philippine condiment partially or completely made of either fermented fish (''bagoóng isdâ'') or krill or shrimp paste (''bagoóng alamáng'') with salt. The fermentation process also produces fish sauce known as ''pat ...

Yucatec puchero

The Yucatec puchero varies by cook and region. The most complete version is called puchero de tres carnes—"with three meats", pork, beef and chicken. Other ingredients may include a piece of plantain in skin, onion, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, squash (''calabaza''), turnips or parsnips, white cabbage (''repollo'') and typically a type of pasta soup (noodles, ''fideos'') and rice to increase the heartiness and especially if only one or two meats are used. The soup like the 98% of Yucatec soups-stews are broth consommés, not at all thick or heavy. It is flavored with saffron, allspice and black pepper. The dish is served with all ingredients in the bowl and a side of fresh additions. Typically or traditionally, a side plate is provided so that the person can put the meat to the side while eating the soup. The garnish consists of freshly chopped or diced

habanero chili The habanero (; ) is a pungent cultivar of ''Capsicum chinense'' chili pepper. Unripe habaneros are green, and they color as they mature. The most common color variants are orange and red, but the fruit may also be white, brown, yellow, green, ...

, onion, radish and cilantro. Avocados when in season. See Steffan Igor Ayora Diaz book on the anthropology of Yucatán food Ayora-Diaz, Steffan Igor (2012) Foodscapes, Foodfields and Identities in Yucatán. Amsterdam: CEDLA, New York: Berghahn

References

{{Filipino cuisine Andalusian cuisine Canary Islands cuisine Argentine cuisine Colombian cuisine Philippine stews Uruguayan cuisine Spanish soups and stews Chickpea dishes

Andalusian puchero

Río de la Plata puchero

Philippine puchero

Yucatec puchero

See also

References