I can't quite put into words the taste and aroma of this stew. If only photographs could carry scent. Ingredients For 4 people 3 pork ribs. 600g fresh pork sausage. A handful of pine nuts. Pitted dried prunes. Dried apricots. 1/2 kg peeled chestnuts. 1 tablespoon cornstarch. 1 teaspoon sugar. 10g dark chocolate. Salt. Olive oil. Vegetable stock. Preparation At the butcher, ask them to cut each rib into three pieces. Cut the sausage into chunks about 6cm long. Put the prunes and apricots to soften in boiling water. In a pot with hot oil, brown the rib pieces and sausage chunks. Once they're nicely golden, add the prunes, chestnuts, apricots, pine nuts, sugar, and chocolate, then cover everything with vegetable stock. If you don't have any, just use water. Cover the pot and let it cook for about 45 minutes. Every now and then, give the pot a good shake. Dissolve the cornstarch in a bit of water and stir it into the sauce, then cook for another...
Today, making the most of a couple of leftover pieces from the roasted chicken, we'll make homemade croquettes. Today they'll be chicken, but they can be made with any leftover pork, beef, or poultry — in the kitchen we must use what we have and not waste, we just need to transform it.
Ingredients
- 500g chicken or roasted chicken, already cooked, shredded, and without skin or bones.
- Breadcrumbs.
- 1 whole egg.
- Béchamel sauce.
- Olive oil for frying.
- Flour.
For the béchamel
- 1 tablespoon oil.
- 50g butter.
- 110g flour.
- 700ml whole milk.
Preparation
- First, we'll grind the meat using a food processor or blender. Set it aside.
- Make the béchamel by putting the butter and oil in a saucepan over the heat. When they're hot, add the flour and let it cook a bit while stirring with a hand whisk — you don't want any lumps of flour.
- Pour in the milk, whisking constantly, and cook until it boils and thickens. Keep whisking the whole time.
- Mix in the ground meat and stir everything together well with a wooden spoon.
- Let it cool down completely. It's actually better to leave it overnight.
- Once the mixture is thoroughly chilled, take portions of it and, with a bit of flour dusted on your kitchen counter, shape it into logs. Cut them to whatever size you want your croquettes to be.
- Dip each piece in beaten egg, then coat with breadcrumbs, and they're ready to fry.
Notes
To make breadcrumbs, you can use leftover bread from home. When it's good and dry, or you can toast it first, grind it on its own or add a bit of garlic and parsley.You can store it for quite a while.
The croquettes, once breaded, don't have to be eaten the same day — you can freeze them.
If you're celiac, use the appropriate flours.