Callos a la madrileña

The story

Callos, beef tripe stewed with chorizo, morcilla and paprika, have been sold in Madrid's taverns for centuries. The culinary history of the city published by esMadrid cites Enrique de Villena's Arte Cisoria of 1423, which already describes the dish, and notes that tripe was a cheap, filling main meal for carters, merchants and vendors. By the late sixteenth century callos were served to crowds around the Cava Baja and the Cebada and San Miguel markets. In the nineteenth century the restaurant Lhardy took them from the tavern to the dining room, and the writer Ángel Muro praised the callos he ate there, washed in many waters. Winter was their season. Taverns displayed callos in clay or enameled pots in their windows, where the stew set into a firm mass studded with chorizo and morcilla, and a portion was cut and reheated for each customer. Madrid's tourist office still points visitors to old taverns such as Antonio Sánchez on Calle Mesón de Paredes, and to Malacatín, founded in 1895. Like those tavern cooks, make callos a day ahead, since the sauce thickens overnight, and serve them in small bowls with plenty of bread.