A hearty boiled dinner of beef, marrow bones and chorizo simmered with corn, squash, sweet potato and chickpeas. Eaten in two acts: the rich golden broth first, then the meat and vegetables.
Puchero crossed from Spain but took on Argentine character on the cattle-rich pampas, where beef and ossobuco replaced the Iberian focus on pork and chicken. A slow Sunday-dinner staple of family homes and neighbourhood restaurants, it stretches one pot into both a soup course and a generous main.
The broth is deep, beefy and golden, almost silky from the marrow. The meats fall apart, the chorizo lends a smoky-spiced edge, and the vegetables turn sweet and yielding, soaking up the savoury liquid. It is unfussy, deeply nourishing, the taste of a long, slow family Sunday.
Starting the meat in cold water draws collagen and marrow into the liquid for a rich broth, while staggering the vegetables by cooking time keeps each one tender but intact rather than dissolving.
Variations
With cabbage and leek, chicken added, Spanish-style with more pork, broth served with rice or fideos, with a side of pickled vegetables
On the Palate
Where Puchero Argentino sits in the Argentinian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
8 steps · 30 min
- 110 min
Cover beef, marrow bones and a piece of cheaper cut with cold water and bring to a simmer.
Watch outStart the meat and bones in cold water, not boiling — a slow rise pulls the collagen and marrow out into a rich broth.
- 270 min
Skim the foam, then add onion, carrot and bay and simmer gently for over an hour.
Watch outSkim off the grey foam as it rises before adding anything else — leave it in and the broth turns cloudy and muddy-tasting.
- 330 min
Add chickpeas (pre-soaked) and let them cook until nearly tender.
- 425 min
Add chorizo, potatoes and sweet potato and continue simmering.
- 520 min
Add corn on the cob and chunks of squash for the final stretch.
Watch outAdd the quick-cooking vegetables like corn and squash only near the end — in too early and they dissolve into mush.
- 610 min
Cook until all the vegetables and meat are fully tender.
- 74 min
Strain off the broth and serve it first, on its own or with small pasta.
- 83 min
Plate the meats and vegetables together as the main course.
