A FAMOUS FEAST FROM LITERATURE

The most memorable meal in the story of Don Quixote by Cervantes is certainly that of the bodas de Camacho, the wedding feast of a rich man named Camacho (who doesn’t, by the way, get the girl).  Don Quixote and Sancho Panza encounter some 50 cooks at work preparing the meal.  A whole young steer stuffed with a dozen suckling pigs is roasting on a huge spit.  Lamb, hare and chickens are stewing in enormous earthenware ollas. Loaves of bread are piled into a mountain and whole cheeses, stacked like bricks, form a wall.  A treasure chest of spices is at hand.  Cooks are frying sweet pastries in great cauldrons of oil, then dipping them into boiling honey syrup.

Sancho, who famously is always thinking of his stomach, cannot contain himself.  He begs permission to dip a crust of bread into one of the pots and is bidden by the cooks to skim off what he likes--and take the ladle too!  Happy, he scores three chickens and a couple geese for breakfast.

A dish fit for a rich man's wedding--braised chicken and meatballs in an almond-saffron sauce.

This chicken stew, rich with ground almonds, might well have been stewing in the huge pots at that wedding feast. The addition of meatballs (or chicken balls) turns it into rather a grand version of chicken pepitoria, a favorite fiesta dish in Spain.

I’m not cooking for any wedding events this week. However, I made a batch of meatballs in almond sauce (albóndigas en salsa de almendras) for a video-chat with students in a class on “Food and Culture in Spain” (with Dr. Martha Daas at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA). It’s a recipe that shows off the best of Spanish cooking with its subtle Moorish influences and that's not one of those familiar ones, paella or gazpacho or potato tortilla.

Later, I upgraded the meatballs. I cooked chicken in the rich almond sauce and combined it with the meatballs to make a fancy meal.

The recipe for wedding stew that appears in my book, Cooking from the Heart of Spain—Food of La Mancha, calls for chicken breast for the meatballs. While chicken breast makes a delightfully light dumpling, veal, pork or a combination can be used instead.  Another version is similar to the rellenos, or bread dumplings, that go into a cocido. The balls can also be made with chicken livers combined with bread, parsley and egg.

If the chicken dish is prepared with gallina, hen, or a mature boiling fowl, it is slow-cooked in water with aromatics until completely tender. The resulting broth is used in the sauce and the cooked meat stripped from the bones and added to the sauce with the meatballs. If you’re using tender chicken legs, braise them right in the sauce.

Steamed white rice makes the perfect accompaniment to this sensuous chicken dish with its “gravy” perfumed with golden saffron and ground almonds.

No wedding needed--serve this easy chicken and meatball dish for a dinner party.

Chicken thighs and drumsticks are succulent.

The rich gravy goes well with steamed white rice.

I've sprinkled threads of saffron and fried almonds on top of the stew.

Options for the meatballs: all chicken breast, or a combination of veal and pork, chicken livers, bread and ham.

Wedding Stew with Chicken and Meatballs
Guiso de Bodas de Camacho

Serves 6.

For the meatballs:
The meatballs can be prepared up to a day in advance, poached, then refrigerated. Reheat them in the stew during the last 15 minutes of cooking.

1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons chopped onion
½ cup fine, fresh breadcrumbs
½ boneless, skinless chicken breast (12-14 ounces), cut in 1-inch pieces
1 egg, separated
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 ½ tablespoon lemon juice
4 cups chicken broth or water

Use a food processor to finely chop the parsley. Add onion, breadcrumbs, chicken breast and egg yolk. Process until the chicken is uniformly minced. Add the nutmeg, pepper, salt, and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.

Beat the egg white on high speed in a small bowl until it holds stiff peaks. Beat in the remaining lemon juice.

Fold the egg whites thoroughly into the ground chicken. 

Dip hands in water and lightly roll the mixture into walnut-sized balls.

Bring the broth or water to a boil. (Broth can be used in the chicken stew.) Reduce to a simmer and poach the meatballs for 4 minutes. They may not be completely cooked through, but will finish cooking in the stew. Remove and reserve.

For the chicken stew:
2 ¾ - 3 pounds legs and thighs (about 8 pieces)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Flour for dredging
¼ cup olive oil
1 slice bread, crusts removed
4 cloves garlic
1 cup blanched and skinned almonds
2 ¼ cups chicken broth
½ teaspoon saffron threads
1/16 teaspoon ground cloves
Grating of nutmeg
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon salt

2 hard-cooked egg yolks (whites can be used for garnish, if desired)

1 cup dry white wine

Chopped parsley for garnish
A few toasted almonds for garnish

Sprinkle the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and let them stand for 20 minutes. Then dredge them in flour, patting off the excess. Place on a tray.

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Fry the slice of bread on moderate heat until golden on both sides. Remove. Add 2 cloves of the garlic and the almonds. Fry them on a medium heat until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve.

Brown chicken pieces before braising.

In the same oil fry the chicken pieces on a medium heat, until they are nicely browned on all sides, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer the pieces as they are browned to a large cazuela or deep sauté pan.

Crush the saffron in a mortar. Add 2 tablespoons of hot water and let it steep 10 minutes.

Grind bread, almonds.

Save a few fried almonds to garnish the finished dish. Place the fried bread, fried garlic plus 2 cloves raw garlic and remaining fried almonds in a blender with 1 cup of the broth. Blend until almonds are smoothly pureed. Add the saffron, cloves, nutmeg, pepper, parsley, salt and egg yolks. Blend again.

Pour the wine over the chicken pieces in the pan.  Raise the heat until the liquid begins to bubble. Add 1 cup of the remaining broth. Cover the pan and cook very gently for 30 minutes.

Turn the chicken pieces. Stir the almond-spice paste into the chicken. Taste for salt. Cover and cook until chicken is very tender, about 30 minutes more, adding additional broth as needed.

When chicken is tender, add the cooked meatballs to the stew and cook 15 minutes more.

Serve the stew in the cazuela or ladled onto a deep platter. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, a few toasted almonds and, if desired, sliced cooked egg whites.

Photo by J.D.Dallet.

More recipes for meatballs and dumplings:

Bread Dumplings (Rellenos).

Meatballs in Almond Sauce.

Low-Carb Meatballs in Almond Sauce.

And, another version of chicken in almond sauce:

Chicken in Almond-Saffron Sauce (Pepitoria).