STAGE 21 - Astorga – Rabanal - Foncebadón

Restaurante Cuca la Vaina (Castrillo de los Polvazares)

You can not leave the maragateria area without trying the maragato cocido (kind of stew). On the way to Foncebadón, at 23 kilometers, in the beautiful village of Castrillo de los Polvazares, Miguel will welcome you with an unforgettable cocido. The maragato is a cocido served in reverse: first of all the meat, then the vegetables and at the end, the soup (also, in the middle of the meal, some delicious fillings). This tradition, which has persisted for centuries, is inherited from the muleteers. While they travelled from one place to another, first they ate what they had in their lunch wooden boxes (meat) and then they passed through the taverns to eat something hot (soup) to warm up. It is just one version of History. Anyway, in Cuca la Vaina you can eat an authentic maragato cocido with first quality products: meats that go from veal shanks morcillo to pork tenderloin; pico pardal chickpeas in the company of stir-fry collards and, finally, a rich noodle soup.