Putxero Day 3 – mandonguilles (left-over croquettes)

Here is the final recipe for this particular putxero.  Using the rest of your leftovers, plus a couple of extras, you can make a whole meal of these little golden dumplings.
This particular recipe is hotly debated in the family. Should you add bechamel? Should you use a blender instead of a mortar and pestle, to make the ingredients smooth?  If I were to follow Iaia to the letter, I would answer yes to both of those questions, but Auntie Toni has convinced me that la abuela (Oscar’s grandmother) didn’t do either and that her mandonguilles were the best ever…I’ll let you experiment and decide for yourself!

What you need:ingredients leftovers from the putxero
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
a small bunch of parsley
about 30g of pine nuts
1 or 2 eggs
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
sunflower seed oil for frying

What you do: Finely dice your onion and fry gently in a little olive oil until it softens. While it is cooking, grab a mortar and pestle and smoosh your garlic and parsley, adding a pinch of salt to help grind everything up.  Once the onion is softened, stir in the garlic/parsley mix and the tsp of paprika. Fry for 20 to 30 seconds, then remove from the heat.
Take your leftovers and mortar and pestle them in manageable batches. (I don’t include the fat at this stage because I prefer to finely chop it rather than squash it). You want things to be chunky but not whole; it isn’t very taxing, nor is it a precise art, so smoosh to please yourself.  In a large bowl, mix the onion, garlic and parsley into the mashed putxero leftovers. Add the finely chopped fat and the pine nuts. Mix well.
Put a frying pan with a couple of centimetres of sunflower oil on to heat. The hotter the oil, the less oily your finished croquettes will be.  The egg (which is essential for binding the croquettes) can be dealt with in two ways, I tried both today, and it makes no difference whatsoever.
1. Beat an egg and then stir into the mixture before forming little croquette-shaped balls and frying, or
2. Make the little balls first and then dip them into a beaten egg before popping them into the pan.
Let the croquettes turn golden on one side before attempting to move them, and then do so gingerly so that they don’t fall apart. Drain on kitchen paper and allow to cool slightly before gobbling them up, or you will burn your mouth! Easy peasy.IMG_9813

Putxero Day 2 – arros al forn (oven-baked rice)

Although this rice uses exactly the same ingredients as yesterday, it has it’s own distinct character because everything dries out a little more in the oven and the flavours intensify.

First off then, pop your oven on to about 180ºC. It needs to be hot by the time you have the rice ready to go in so the stock doesn’t get a chance to go off the boil.

Because we want dry (but not horribly dried out,) rice today, we have to measure the next bit pretty carefully. If you are cooking this in a ceramic or terracotta dish, the stock-to-rice ratio is exactly 2:1. If you use a metal baking dish, you will need a little more stock, and if you cook wholemeal rice, you should increase it to 3:1.  I used one and a half glasses of rice and 3 glasses of stock today. riceandstockIt is also really important to heat your stock to boiling before pouring it over the rice; otherwise, it will all take a good while to start cooking, and things will go all gluggy. Best to get your stock in a pan and on the heat while you deal with the rice and other bits.

Pour your rice into the base of a large, shallow terracotta dish (or a baking tray) and cut however much leftover meat, veg, chickpeas and pork fat you want to decorate your rice with and into bite-sized pieces, slicing the meatball into large rounds. ingredients

Sprinkle them about however you like, but make sure that the meatball slices and the dices of fat are on top – they will brown and melt beautifully and are the bits everyone always fights over.IMG_9784Once you have everything ready, season to taste and pour your boiling stock over the top. Into the oven for 30 or 40 minutes – until the stock has been absorbed by the rice and the top is looking goldenly fabulous.IMG_9789

Serve onto plates or, if you are friendly enough with your dining companion, eat it straight from the dish, following the paella etiquette rules.