Cooked with balls from La Vega Baja

The stew with meatballs from La Vega Baja del Segura is a traditional dish from our region. Like any other stew from Spain (Madrid, Lebaniego, escudella, Andalusian puchero…), it is a comforting, familiar dish, and its recipe is passed down from generation to generation, never finding two that are the same, and even if they are from the same area, we will always find nuances. However, that is the beauty of these traditional inherited recipes, don't you think?

Stew with meatballs is a typical Sunday family dish, but above all, in my area, it is a particularly Christmas dish, typical especially on Christmas Day. Likewise, it is also very typical to use leftover meat to make cannelloni on December 26th, so in addition to enjoying a spectacular stew with its “little balls” –as we say here–, the next day, the long-awaited and delicious stew cannelloni await us.

To make this recipe, I always use my Le Creuset oval cocotte , because although it may seem that what matters is the content and not the container, I assure you that from my experience, the difference between using a regular pot and cooking in a cocotte is abysmal. Specifically, in this recipe, both for the texture of the meats, potatoes and legumes, as well as for their flavour, it is a must-have for this type of traditional slow cooking.

Evolution Le Creuset oval cocotte , T&G wooden shovel , Le creuset mini-cocotte and Pallarès kitchen knife

Ingredients

For the stew:

• 500 g chicken breasts
• 100 g salted Iberian bacon
• 150 g of garrón ham bone
• 230 g pork knuckle
• 1 peeled turnip
• 1 peeled parsnip
• 3 celery branches
• 3 peeled carrots
• Medium potatoes (one per person)
• 500 g cooked chickpeas (*)
• Balls (one per person)
• 3 strands of saffron

For the balls:

• 200 g of stale, soaked bread (*)
• A good handful of pine nuts
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt flakes
• 1 pinch of pepper
• 2 large eggs
• Zest of a lemon
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and pressed
• A handful of chopped fresh parsley
• 750 g of beef and pork
• 250 g of turkey or chicken breast
• A white (*)

Clarifications:

(*) Canned chickpeas that are already cooked are great in this recipe, however, if you want to make them dry, you should soak them for 24 hours beforehand, and change the water regularly.

(*) A “blanco” is a typical boiled sausage from La Vega Baja, made from boiled minced pork, spices (cloves), salt, pepper and egg. If you can't find it in your community, use any sausage with those ingredients mentioned for a similar result.

(*) The bread must be a hard country bread, a few days old. We will have to crumble it and soak it in water, especially if you use the crust. Once the crust is soft, drain it very well and add it to the mixture.

Evolution Le Creuset oval cocotte , T&G wooden shovel , Mini-cocotte Le creuset and Pallarès kitchen knife

Preparation

For the stew:

1. In a cocotte (I used an oval one measuring 27 cm), place all the ingredients in this order: meats (chicken breasts, salted bacon, ham bone, pork knuckle); turnip, parsnip, celery, carrots.
2. Fill the cocotte with water and bring to a boil over medium heat. When it starts to boil, add the cooked chickpeas* and the potatoes. Skim the water until no impurities come out of the meat.
3. Let it simmer for at least 3 hours with the cocotte covered. After this time, add the saffron threads.
4. Add the meatballs to the stew (see recipe below). When you add them, they should be covered by at least ¾ of the broth and let them cook for 1 hour with the cocotte covered.
5. Once finished, the broth is served as a first course (with or without noodles), with one ball per diner, and as a second course, the meats, vegetables, chickpeas and potatoes are served in the center of the table, and each diner serves themselves as they wish.

How to make meatballs from a stew:

1. In a food processor, chop all the meat. Once chopped, put it in a large bowl with the rest of the ingredients and knead with your hands. You should get a homogeneous dough, neither too soft nor too compact.
2. Form the balls, slightly larger than a ping-pong ball (make sure to press them tightly so they don't fall apart). Finally, place them in the fridge until ready to cook.

Evolution Le Creuset oval cocotte