Montañés cocido sits well in the body, both in winter and in summer. Those who seek it always end up finding it in Cantabria’s restaurants, which can boast on their menus a dish that, despite its short history, best represents the product and the tradition of Cantabrian cuisine.
The current fame of Montañés cocido is the result of the efforts of Cantabrian politician José Luis Herrero Tejedor. In the sixties, Herrero Tejedor tasted the cocido from Casa Cofiño, in Caviedes, and decided to christen that potaje of greens typical of the western part of Cantabria with the name of “Montañés cocido.” In a time when each region wished to boast of an emblematic dish and surrounded by the fame of Asturian fabada and Basque marmitako, Cantabria needed its own cocido to place itself on the map of Spanish gastronomy.
What’s the secret to mastering it? Rain-washed greens, small white beans, bacon, morcilla, and a rib from the slaughter, a couple of potatoes, and a cheerful paprika. The recipe is simple and only requires patience, but finding the best Montañés cocido in Cantabria can prove to be a far more challenging task. That’s why, from CN Traveler, we offer an updated list so you know where to go when rain is in the forecast.
Casa Cofiño: la confirmación de una tradición
To say that the fame of Montañés cocido belongs entirely to Herrero Tejedor would be like claiming that the merit lies with the publisher rather than with the writer. The tradition of simmering greens with beans and slaughterhouse products has existed in the western valleys of the Besaya River since the Middle Ages, when communal pots were the main sustenance of Cantabrian towns.
