← Nouns Cooking · Brazilian & Peruvian

Ingredients

• 500 g Chicken breast
• 1 l Water
• 1 Bay leaves
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp Tomato purée (paste)
• 100 g cream cheese (or Brazilian requeijão)
• 3 tbsp Spring onion, finely sliced
• 2 tbsp Parsley, chopped
• 600 ml the chicken poaching liquid (top up with chicken stock)
• 1 tbsp Butter
• 300 g plain flour, sifted
• 2 Eggs, beaten
• 150 g fine dry breadcrumbs
• 1 l vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Method

1. Put the chicken, water, bay leaf and salt in a pan, bring to a gentle simmer and poach for 15–20 min, until cooked through (75°C / 165°F). Lift out the chicken and keep the liquid. Shred the meat very finely with two forks.
2. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the onion for 5 min, until soft. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste for 1 minute, then the chicken and a splash of the poaching liquid. Take off the heat, mix in the cream cheese and herbs, season and leave to cool.
3. For the dough, bring 600 ml of the poaching liquid and the butter to the boil. Tip in all the flour at once and stir hard with a wooden spoon over low heat for 2–3 min, until it forms a smooth ball that pulls away from the pan.
4. Turn the dough onto a lightly oiled surface and leave until cool enough to handle, about 15 min, then knead for 2–3 min until smooth. Keep it covered so it doesn’t dry out.
5. Pinch off walnut-sized pieces, flatten each into a 7 cm disc in your palm and add a heaped teaspoon of filling. Pull the edges up around it, pinch to seal and shape into a teardrop with a pointed top.
6. Dip each coxinha in beaten egg, then roll in breadcrumbs. Chill for 30 min to firm up.
7. Heat the frying oil in a deep, heavy pan to 175°C (350°F); never fill the pan more than a third full. Fry 5–6 at a time for 3–4 min, turning, until deep golden. Drain on kitchen paper and serve warm.

Tips

• Shaped, crumbed coxinhas freeze well: open-freeze on a tray, then bag them and fry from frozen for 1–2 minutes longer.
• If the dough cracks when shaping, it is too dry; knead in a few drops of warm stock.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

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