Although the capital status has made the traditions of the villa although they remain diluted, the typical food of Madrid still survives through some dishes. The famous cocido in its Madrid version is the most obvious star of the local gastronomy. It’s hard to resist a good soup, while the side dishes – chickpeas, cabbage or chorizo, among others – are easy to adapt to personal taste. However, when it comes to sweets, there is more discussion: are torrijas or roscón de Reyes from here? Some argue that it is, to the detriment of some local dessert that has been (almost completely) lost.
Cocido madrileño (stew)
Every year, when the temperature drops below 20 degrees, Google searches for cocido madrileño go up. The soup with its two, three or even four turns is as permanent in Madrid as the works in the Puerta del Sol. It is the most ordered dish in the oldest (and finest) restaurant in the city, the Lhardy, and in the Cruz Blanca de Vallecas. Who serves it best is a matter of personal judgment.
Callos a la madrileña (Madrid style)
Tripe is the most mainstream dish of the casquería. After the above-mentioned soup, this is the staple of Madrid’s gastronomy, prepared by grandmothers and served as a tapa in any neighborhood bar. Now, whether because of the work involved in cleaning them, their texture or appearance, they are less common on modern menus.
To distinguish callos a la madrileña you have to know what is and what is not included: the leg, the snout and the chorizo are part of the stew, but the chickpeas and the bell pepper are not.
Squid sandwich
The calamari sandwich is to Madrid what the bagel is to New York and the crêpe to Paris. Madrid’s street food has as many detractors as tourists queuing up to eat one around the Plaza Mayor.
The Inception and popularity of the bocata de calamares -in Madrid we say bocata more than bocadillo- seems to be between said and done. To begin with, because of the fish in a city so far from the coast, and then because of its simplicity, even because of how coarse it can be, depending on who prepares it. But as with all fast and street dishes, elaboration and common sense do not always play a fundamental role. What it has to be is easy to cook and to eat, and if possible hearty, requirements that the squid sandwich undoubtedly meets.
Chickens and ins and outs
The typical food of Madrid goes from controversy to controversy, almost like the city. The hens and ins and outs are not easy for outsiders who have not grown up with the smell in their neighborhoods. These fried lamb tripe (usually, but it can vary) arose from misery that was lived in some areas of the capital, where the waste from slaughterhouses were used to eat.
They are not photogenic, and although they are common in verbenas, it is better to avoid those where the oil is not changed often (as with churros). If you want to try the classics, a good option is Casa Enriqueta, a casquería institution; for a modern version, Salino, where they serve them in a taco.
Garlic shrimp
If it’s not clear to you when you cross Calle de la Cruz that gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimp) is a very local dish, you have to go back. Again, the prawns, a fundamental element, not that they are raised in the Manzanares, but bathing them in oil with a chili pepper is a good idea wherever it comes from. It is not known if it was in La Casa del Abuelo, a centenary bar, but they have been preparing them successfully since the post-war period and from here to the world (because there are versions of the recipe in Mexico and Argentina).
Typical sweets from Madrid
San Isidro Doughnuts
Doughnuts may be the most widespread Spanish dessert and adapted to each area, in Madrid this traditional dessert has four forms: the silly, the classic without anything; the ready; the Santa Clara and the French. But there is a new one to add to the list since the Holy Year or San Isidro (2022), the fifth that is covered in chocolate. They are usually sold in traditional bakeries in May when the feast of San Isidro is approaching. La Mallorquina, Horno de San Onofre, El Riojano… are the classic confectioneries to buy donuts.
Bartolillos
We enter the realm of typical Madrid desserts that have been disappearing and are now hard to find. The bartolillos have the shape of the shawl worn by Mujeres during Holy Week, which is when they are taken. It is a puff pastry dough fried and filled with cream, and it is sold in the same places as the doughnuts, but during the most Catholic week of the year.
Merlitones
The merlitones may be the most confused and disappeared, although pastry shops like La Mallorquina still sell them. It is a tartlet with a puff pastry base and a filling that varies between more or less yolk and almond, so that some are juicier than others. They have a similar appearance to the muffin and are also prepared in some villages of the Basque Country.
Almudena Crown
This modern dessert -invented in 1978 by the Gremio de Pasteleros de la Villa- seems to be a response to the passion caused in Madrid by the roscón de reyes. It is sold in bakeries on the day of the Virgen de la Almudena, and unlike the roscón, the crown has neither candied fruit (lucky for many), nor orange blossom water.
It has taken a while for this dessert to become known in the city, but it is becoming easier and easier to find as November 9 approaches.