Cocido con Pelotas, or stew with meatballs, is a proper winter favourite on the Costa Blanca.
The stew is a rich broth filled with chickpeas, vegetables like carrots and potatoes, and various cuts of meat that give it a deep flavour. The meatballs, called pelotas, are soft, spiced, and add a lovely texture.
In the Vega Baja region, many restaurants still stick to the old family recipes, keeping the tradition alive.
For six people, you’ll need about a kilo of chickpeas, beef knuckle, half a turkey (around one kilo), some lean bacon, a chorizo sausage, small potatoes, green beans, pumpkin from Totana, celery, cardoon, salt, and a pinch of saffron.
The pelotas are made from chopped bacon, pork, turkey liver, three eggs, fresh bread, pine nuts, pepper, garlic, and parsley.
To cook, start by simmering the chickpeas, knuckle, turkey, bacon, and a pinch of salt in three litres of water for an hour. Then add the green beans, celery, and cardoon. After half an hour, toss in the potatoes, chorizo, pumpkin, and saffron. Ten minutes later, carefully add the meatballs so they don’t break apart. Let everything cook until the potatoes are soft.
Take some broth out and put it in a separate pot. Add finely chopped garlic and parsley, cook for five minutes, then add a handful of broken fine noodles. Let it cook for six or seven minutes before serving it as a soup. It’s filling, so some people prefer to serve the broth without noodles in small cups with a single meatball and, if feeling fancy, a splash of sherry.
To make the meatballs, chop the bacon, pork, liver, and turkey finely. Mix in garlic, parsley, eggs, soaked breadcrumbs, pine nuts, pepper, and salt. Knead it all together and form the balls.
It’s a dish that’s proper comforting, perfect for cold days when you want something hearty on your plate.
