Portugal (national)
Portugal's supreme boiled dinner — a vast pot containing multiple meats (fresh pork, salted pork, chouriço, morcela, alheira, chicken, beef), vegetables (potato, carrot, turnip, couve), and dried chickpeas and white beans, all cooked in the same pot and served in sequence like the Spanish cocido madrileño, from which it descends and to which it is related through their shared Moorish heritage. Each region of Portugal has its variant: Cozido à transmontana from the north uses smoked meats and local varieties; cozido das Furnas from the Azores is cooked in volcanic thermal springs. The national dish, if there is one, is this.
Start the meats in cold water — chicken and smoked sausages after 1 hour from the start. Chickpeas pre-soaked overnight go in early. Vegetables in the last 45 minutes in order of density. The broth is served first with rice or small pasta, then the meats and vegetables together. Use the broth to cook rice separately — do not add rice directly to the pot.
The alheira is added in the last 20 minutes only — it bursts easily and needs gentle treatment. Reserve some broth for a second service of rice or soup. The meats and vegetables served together with good Portuguese olive oil, coarse mustard, and cornbread (broa) is one of the great communal eating experiences in European food culture.
Adding all ingredients simultaneously — vegetables will be mush, chickpeas undercooked. Starting in boiling water — cloudy broth. Not pre-soaking the chickpeas. Under-salting — smoked sausages add salt, but the broth still needs seasoning.
My Portugal by George Mendes